President Joe Biden publicly shamed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in two separate addresses for spreading an outrageous conspiracy theory about the hurricanes currently ravaging several southern states.
In a televised address to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Biden first thanked the state governors, who he says have “stepped up” to combat the wave of misinformation being peddled by former President Donald Trump and his fellow right-wing extremists.
Many members of the GOP have accused the federal government of mishandling disaster relief, though several Republican governors have debunked those claims and have publicly thanked the Biden administration for its unwavering support.
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Biden then mentioned that there was “even one congresswoman suggesting that I control the weather and that I’m sending it to red states,” referring to multiple tweets from Greene suggesting exactly that. He called the comments “off the wall.”
“It’s like out of a comic book,” he added.
In a separate address, Biden slammed the “reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people” and “undermining confidence” in the recovery work underway in the states hit by the hurricanes.
Biden called out Greene by name in this one, calling her accusations “bizarre.”
“It’s beyond ridiculous,” Biden said. “It’s gotta stop. In moments like this there are no red or blue states. There’s one United States of America.”
Biden also blamed Donald Trump, who he said has “led the onslaught of lies.”
“Assertions have been made that property is being confiscated,” he continued. “That’s simply not true.” He also refuted claims that those impacted by the storms will only receive $750.
“They’re saying the money needed for this crisis is being diverted to migrants. What a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not true.”
Greene first posited her conspiracy theory on October 3 when she wrote on X of Hurricane Helene, “Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Though she didn’t explain who “they” refers to, her vague post was widely seen as promoting a conspiracy theory as it’s impossible for humans to create hurricanes on demand. X users added a community note to Greene’s post that said, “Hurricanes and other large storms cannot be produced with modern technology.”
Greene seemingly doubled down on her claim by reposting a meme listing numerous patent numbers for weather-related devices. Patents are merely registered ideas of inventions with are not proof of them actually working. A community note added to Greene’s meme says, “These patents can’t ‘control the weather.’ Most are absurd and lack practical relevance.”
Nevertheless, Greene made another X post touting “proof” of her claim in the form of a video of Obama-era CIA Director John Brennan talking about small-scale innovations to curtail climate change. In the video, Brennan didn’t say anything about the government being able to produce massive natural disasters.
Republicans in Florida and other hurricane-afflicted states have criticized former President Donald Trump and his right-wing allies for deliberately spreading misinformation about the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Trump has falsely accused the federal government of abandoning the public, of only offering victims a mere $750 in aid and of using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to house immigrants. None of these claims are true and they have resulted in harassment of FEMA workers, immigrants and public officials in affected areas.
Local media outlets, federal and state officials, and emergency responders all are “desperately trying to swat down [such] rumors and falsehoods,” Media Matters reported.
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