As LGM says, when Hurricane Sandy hit back in 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie didn’t hesitate to work with the Obama administration. In 2024, Republicans are actively throwing sand in the gears of relief work and spreading misinformation for political gain. Claiming, for example, that victims of Helene only get $750 in FEMA funding because all the money’s going to the Ukraine or illegal immigrants or whatever. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 will shrink FEMA, cutting its budget and making it harder to receive aid. The money will then flow to more of Trump’s budget-busting tax cuts.
Where Trump leads, other slime follow. Jesse Watters parrots the claim about FEMA money going to immigrants. Marjorie Taylor Greene implies the hurricane was no accident because “they” can control the weather. When she was told this is bullshit, she kept screaming it wasn’t. RNC head Lara Trump says her father-in-law is right.
House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to call Congress back into session to provide extra disaster funding. Mark Robinson ducked two votes on calling for federal help. With Milton about to hammer central Florida, Ron DeSantis still won’t take Kamala Harris’ calls on federal help because that would be “politicizing” the storm.
Christian conservative Megan Basham parrots Trump’s lies while asserting that yes, we have some obligation to other people, but Americans first. First, there’s no conflict as Biden isn’t diverting FEMA money to help immigrants. Second, as Fred Clark points out, Basham’s argument falls into a long tradition of twisting Jesus: he says we help our neighbors, the response is, in Clark’s words, “Can’t you please just tell us that there’s somebody we’re allowed not to love?”
All that said, my prayers to everyone facing Hurricane Milton landfall. I’ve been in hurricanes, evacuated from hurricanes and this is going to be ugly.
