The 2020 election might be best remembered by historians for the avalanche of GOP false claims and conspiracy theories about voter fraud. And that might be how we remember the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina as well.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that disaster relief efforts anchored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency could turn political. Just look at Andrew, Katrina or Sandy. But this is different.
Relief work for Hurricane Helene faces what might be best described as a political witches’ brew. Not only is it a presidential election year, but we also have some of the craziest conspiracy theories imaginable circulating as well.
That forced a GOP Congressman in North Carolina to openly address some of the wild rumors bubbling up amid the rubble in his own district.
“Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government,” U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards wrote. “Nobody can control the weather.”
If you haven’t heard about this, stick with this story — because the Helene conspiracy stuff gets nutty pretty quick.
One crazy claim is that the feds secretly made Hurricane Helene more powerful — and then used the damage in North Carolina as a pretext to seize local deposits of lithium, along with the town of Chimney Rock, located southeast of Asheville.
“Chimney Rock is NOT being bulldozed over,” Edwards wrote, amid rumors of a “special meeting” of government officials to let the feds seize the town.
Edwards also turned his attention to the rumors and misinformation about FEMA.
“FEMA cannot seize your property or land,” he said.
Edwards even shot down a claim made by Donald Trump, who wrongly accused FEMA of diverting disaster money to programs for illegal immigrants. (Ironically, Trump actually did that when he was president.)
The Edwards declaration came a day after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, tweeted, ‘Yes, they can control the weather,’ in another nod to the crazy Hurricane Helene claims.
That drew a rebuke from one of Greene’s GOP colleagues.
“Humans cannot create or control hurricanes,” said U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “Anyone who thinks they can needs to have their head examined.”
President Biden also weighed in on Greene’s claim.
“We’re controlling the weather?” he asked with a puzzled look on his face. “It’s beyond ridiculous.”
This isn’t Greene’s first dance with disaster conspiracy theories. You might remember her blaming wildfires in California on space lasers.
“For a millennia, humanity thought God controlled the weather,” tweeted Neera Tanden, who runs Biden’s Domestic Policy Council. “Now the far right thinks Democrats do.”
Think about it: If we can have this misinformation about a natural disaster, what awaits us on Election Day?
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
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