Illustration by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
The American Southeast has recently been ravaged by not one, but two, monstrous hurricanes. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia were first slammed by Helene which brought record storm surges and rainfall to the area. Up to twenty-four and thirty inches of rain fell in western North Carolina. Asheville, North Carolina suffered record flooding. Roads were washed out, power was cut off, and over two hundred people died.
Then, only two weeks later, Hurricane Milton slammed into the western coast of float and cut across the peninsula, killing seventeen and causing billions of dollars’ worth of damage. The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was pulled off by Milton as easily as a child pulling the top off a juice pack.
Immediately after these disastrous storms, local, state, and federal assistance programs sprang into action. Local law enforcement and EMTs joined forces with state and federal agencies in rescue and recovery operations. Volunteer linemen, engineers, and electrical workers from as far away as Washington and Oregon flocked to the afflicted areas to return power as soon as possible. Millions of dollars of donations for necessities like food, water, and clothing came pouring in. Corporations like Costco, Walmart, and Mastercard—among many others—donated money and goods to the people in these disaster areas. Megastar singer Taylor Swift donated five million dollars of her own funds to victims of the disaster; Dolly Parton donated two million dollars.
None of this is surprising. Americans are a generous and sympathetic people. We have always reached out during times of need and hardship, recognizing the need to stand together and lend a hand in times of crisis.
What is truly appalling during this exceptionally vicious hurricane season is not the death toll or the billions of dollars in property damage but the deliberate lies and misinformation being spread by former President Trump and his MAGA minions.
According to the Penn Live Patriot News, Trump has claimed that the Biden administration used technology to control the weather and target the back-to-back hurricanes to Republican-leaning areas. Representative and Trump groupie Marjory Taylor Green went so far as to post on social media that special installations set up in Antarctica were controlling the storms and that the storm path seemed to be targeting Republican areas and deliberately skirting Democratic-leaning areas. These storms were, of course, natural (although enhanced by the effects of climate change) weather events
Experts, federal officials, and even Greene’s colleague, Florida representative Carlos Giminez suggested anyone who believed such nonsense should have their head examined.
Detractors also claimed that President Biden deliberately withheld federal aid from Republican-leaning districts hit by the storm, a claim which was once again debunked. In fact, President Biden immediately approved disaster status for North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida, calling governors and civic leaders—regardless of political affiliation—in all these states. Vice President Harris was in contact with FEMA and visited the afflicted areas.
Another rumor being spread through social media in western North Carolina was that the government was prepared to seize the lands around the severely flood-damaged town of Chimney Rock and not let residents rebuild, and—in fact—tear down any remaining structures. Some of those stories even claimed that the government was preparing to seize nearby lithium mines.
Once again, even though these stories are extreme and pervasive falsehoods, they were spread through Telegram and other social media outlets by far-right groups who even tried to link the lithium “confiscations” to the electric car industry—but they are completely, utterly, and maliciously false. FEMA has no right to arbitrarily seize or destroy property. Even if they did, the federal government had no plans to take over any private property. Perhaps the most insidious part of this latest rumor was the assertion that families would not be able to return, not even to pick up any dead relatives.
Far-right elements also posted on social media that FEMA would only pay $750 to survivors and that the money earmarked to help hurricane and flood victims had been used to help immigrants and aid the war effort in Ukraine. All of which is completely and utterly false.
If these were simply examples of the Trump camp blowing smoke, it wouldn’t be a surprise, but spreading these lies among people who are hopelessly entangled in the cult of Trump and unable to process facts outside his sphere of influence was—at the least, harmful, and at the worst, deadly.
Republican Senator Chuck Edwards, whose district is in the ravage western North Carolina mountains took issue with the outrageous falsehoods and conspiracy theories and warned that valuable resources and manpower were being diverted in an attempt to counter the lies, which are, in some cases, a threat to life and limb. According to reports on CNNMonday, some federal rescue workers were being threatened by armed militia groups in North Carolina, forcing FEMA to temporarily pause their operations.
According to a report from MSNBC, A man identifying himself as Anthony called into the show and said that his father-in-law , who lived in Asheville and who Anthony described as a hard-core Trumper, had suffered severe flood damage but was refusing all FEMA help for fear the government would take his house. The father-in-law complained he had no food and needed help but would not—because of Trump’s reckless falsehoods—accept anything from the government. The son-in-law was worried for his safety and his life and believes his father-in-law is in (in his words) the cult of Trump and will not listen to anyone but his messianic leader.
This man, this father-in-law, like many MAGAs, is held completely under the sway of Donald J. Trump. They will do, or not do, anything he says. They are as obedient as household pets, and like the family dog will do anything to please their master. We saw the same phenomenon in Jonestown. Jim Jones felt the walls closing in and told everyone to drink the poisoned Kool-Aid. Which they did.
This newest brand of Kool-Aid, the Hurricane Helene special, is just as pernicious. While Trump will not go as far (at least at this point) as Jim Jones, he will do whatever he needs to do to gain, consolidate, or maintain power. The lies he is spreading to his loyal followers might work to some short-term political gain, and that is all he cares about. His people, no matter how loving or how loyal, are nothing to him but pawns.
And like a loyal dog, they will return to him no matter how many times they have kicked or beaten. Like the family dog, their love and loyalty knows no bounds. And like the family dog, they will obey their master even if means their own demise. And like this abused family dog, they deserve better.
Sources
- https://www.pennlive.com/news/2024/10/a-look-at-the-lies-around-hurricanes-helene-and-milton-spread-by-trump-gop-candidates.html
- https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/helene-milton-disinformation-trump-fema-dan-abrams-rcna174889
- https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4923597-north-carolina-chuck-edwards-hurricane-helene-misinformation/
- https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/14/us/fema-helene-north-carolina-reported-threats/index.html
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