It took only hours after flooding hit Texas for politicization of the tragedy to begin. With a Republican in the White House, most of the partisan tirades and smears have come from the political left.
Heroic efforts by Kerrville police saves lives in deadly floods
Kerrville police officers rescued residents during deadly Texas floods, risking their lives to save others in their community.
When tragedy strikes, as it did July 4 in Texas, we often see the best in human nature, whether in the form of heroic rescues or others generously stepping in to help.
We also can see the worst.
At least 120 people died from the devastating flash floods in six counties. That includes 36 children, many of whom were at a summer camp. And more than 170 children and adults remain missing, with hope of finding them alive slim. It’s horrific, and my heart has been heavy all week. The photos of young girls and camp counselors who died are hard to take in.
Yet, it took only hours after the floods hit for the politicization of the tragedy to begin. With a Republican in the White House and a Republican governor in Texas, most of the partisan tirades and smears have come from the left.
With President Donald Trump expected to visit Texas on July 11, no doubt the rhetoric will escalate.
It’s a shame that the deaths of so many, including children, can’t bring the country together for even a short time.
Democrats claim Trump and Republicans are to blame for natural disaster
There’s been no shortage of truly ugly takes on what happened in Texas.
And while there should be investigations into how people in harm’s way could have been notified more effectively, there’s also been misinformation spread by Democrats who want to capitalize on the calamity.
Much of that has been directed at Trump and his administration.
On July 6, the Democratic National Committee’s X account, which has 2.3 million followers, posted a screenshot of a headline, “As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas.”
The DNC account added the following commentary ‒ “Reminder: The staffing shortages at the National Weather Service’s San Angelo and San Antonio offices doubled under the Trump administration. These jobs are meant to coordinate disaster response and save lives.”
News reporting, including from The Associated Press, has disproved the claim that a lack of staff contributed to the disaster. In fact, the local NWS office had extra staff on duty during the storms.
It was incredibly reckless for Democrats to spread falsehoods in the aftermath of this tragedy in hopes of a political win.
“Unfortunately, in the wake of this once-in-a-generation natural disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats, such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and some members of the media,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said July 7. “Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning.”
Flood victims deserved their fate because they’re ‘MAGA’? How vile can you get?
Then – and it’s hard to believe – there have been callous comments directed at the victims themselves. The areas hit hardest are ones that supported Trump by wide margins.
That led Texas pediatrician Christina Propst to say the flood victims got “what they voted for.”
“May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry,” Probst wrote in the now-deleted post, which went viral. “Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for. Bless their hearts.”
Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski, a leftist with a large following, had a similarly disgusting (now-deleted) take: “The people in Texas voted for government services controlled by Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. That is exactly what they (are) getting.”
Race also came into play. Sade Perkins, a former Houston mayoral appointee, posted a TikTok falsely ranting about how hard-hit Camp Mystic is a “White-only” girls’ camp.
“They don’t even have a token Asian,” she said. “They don’t have a token Black person. It is a all-White, White-only conservative Christian camp.”
As if these innocent kids’ race matters.
Rather than apologize after the ensuing backlash, Perkins doubled down with another vile post.
As Trump visits Texas and as recovery of victims continues, I hope Democrats will hit pause on their rhetoric and focus on all the families whose lives are forever changed.
They probably won’t.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques
