Instead of focusing on the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian, liberal pundits crammed the disaster into the ‘DeSantis vs. Biden’ frame.
Welcome back to Forgotten Fact-Checks, a weekly column produced by National Review’s News Desk. This week, we take a look at the media reactions to Hurricane Ian, recap a questionable advice column, and hit more media misses.
DeSantis Derangement Disorder: Hurricane Ian Edition
Hurricane Ian tore through Florida last week, killing at least 76 people and leaving a path of destruction and despair in its wake.
This did not stop the media from politicizing the tragedy, however, with several pundits using the powerful category-four storm as an opportunity to attack Florida governor Ron DeSantis. That’s despite President Biden’s saying that his political disagreements with DeSantis are “totally irrelevant” when it comes to hurricane-response efforts. “This is not about anything having to do with our disagreements politically, this is about saving people’s lives, homes and businesses. That’s what this is about,” Biden said Thursday.
DeSantis, similarly, said he is “very thankful” to Biden and suggested “we all need to work together regardless of party lines.”
Still, several MSNBC personalities took shots at DeSantis after the governor asked Biden and the federal government for assistance.
MSNBC host Joy Reid was among those who criticized DeSantis for the request, noting that he once opposed a federal aid package for New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy in 2013 when he was a U.S. representative. DeSantis at the time had said that he was not against all storm relief, but that the bill before him included excessive spending that went beyond the scope of disaster relief. Reid said DeSantis now must go “hat in hand” to the president to ask for help, which she claimed is “antithetical” to his entire ideology that individuals should assume their own risks and “take care of their own lives.”
MSNBC political analyst David Jolly joked that DeSantis may have to become a “big-government” Republican for the state to recover from the hurricane. “In just a week’s time, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gone from menacing troll to docile figurehead. Evidently, it takes a natural disaster to put a (temporary) stop to his political terrorism,” Ja’han Jones wrote on the MSNBC website.
Politico took a shot as well, writing: “DeSantis has been a critic of Biden on nearly every policy front. But he sure does like the president’s wallet.”
DeSantis has been a critic of Biden on nearly every policy front. But he sure does like the president's wallet.
Over the past two years, DeSantis’ admin received billions in federal relief cash, which the governor has used to fund his top priorities.https://t.co/pmzBGQpz2e
— POLITICO (@politico) October 3, 2022
Even a local columnist with the Palm Beach Post got in on the action, writing: “Tread on us, please. Florida needs a new socialism-friendly slogan after Hurricane Ian.”
“Dear America: Please tread on Florida. I know. I know. This isn’t the message you’ve been hearing from us on the $25 T-shirts for sale on the Gov. Ron DeSantis re-election site,” columnist Frank Cerabino wrote. “But we here in Florida are temporarily suspending all criticisms of federal handouts and any other form of socialism. And as for those ‘Don’t Tread on Florida’ T-shirts, ball caps and flags, we’re not in a go-it-alone mood anymore.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, suggested that Hurricane Ian–relief aid should be distributed “based on equity.”
Harris said on Friday that those in lower-income communities and people of color are “most impacted by these extreme conditions,” and “we are all thinking about the families in Florida and Puerto Rico with [Hurricane] Fiona and what we need to do to help them in terms of an immediate response and aid.”
Speaking during the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum, she said: “We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity. . . . Sometimes we have to take into account those disparities.”
Christina Pushaw, rapid-response director for DeSantis’s reelection campaign, rebuked the vice president: “This is false. @VP‘s rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified. FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background. If you need assistance visit disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362,” Pushaw tweeted.
DeSantis on Friday warned against looting in areas hard-hit by Hurricane Ian, reminding would-be looters that Florida is a “Second Amendment state.”
Reid wrote in a tweet that the segregationist Miami sheriff Walter E. Headley said in 1967: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” “Didn’t take DeSantis long to return to form,” Reid said, likening the governor to the segregationist sheriff.
Meanwhile CNN correspondent Nadia Romero questioned why Lee County did not have a mandatory evacuation order until one day before Hurricane Ian hit, despite the fact that many storm reports did not show Lee County as being within the range of Hurricane Ian in the days leading up to the storm. “Well, where was your industry stationed when the storm hit?” DeSantis replied when Romero asked if he stands by the county’s decision. “Were you guys in Lee County? No, you were in Tampa.”
Asked whether the county’s decision will be reviewed, DeSantis said: “They informed people and most people did not want to do it. That’s just the reality. So you’re in a situation, are you going to grab somebody out of their home that doesn’t want to. I don’t think that’s the appropriate use of government. I mean, I think that takes it a little too far.”
Those who took a break from bashing the governor instead latched on the storm as evidence that climate change is worsening.
The New York Times described the storm as more “climate havoc” while CNN’s Don Lemon insisted that Hurricane Ian was worsened by climate change, despite the fact that acting director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center said otherwise. “What effect does climate change have on this phenomenon?” Lemon asked acting director Jamie Rhome. “Because it seems these storms are intensifying.” “I don’t think you can link climate change to any one event. On the whole, on the cumulative, climate change may be making storms worse. But to link it to any one event, I would caution against it,” Rhome replied.
“Ok, listen, I grew up there. And these storms are intensifying,” Lemon responded.
Headline Fail of the Week
The Washington Post wants readers to know that, in fact, a recession could be good for you! The “democracy dies in darkness” paper published an advice column titled: “7 ways a recession could be good for you financially.”
“Hey, a recession isn’t all bad news,” the article’s subheading reads. “Here are seven silver linings.”
Among those so-called silver linings are: “unemployment is still relatively low,” “the dollar is king,” and “student loan forgiveness is coming.”
Media Misses
— Another Washington Post columnist, Sahaj Kaur Kohli, wrote on Twitter that “folks really don’t understand how harmful [mispronunciations of a person’s name] can be to a person’s psyche.”
“It might seem like a small thing, but in fact, when others continuously mispronounce someone’s name, or assign a nickname for their own ease, it’s considered a name-based microaggression,” she continued. “And like all microaggressions, this can take a toll on your self-esteem, making you feel devalued or unworthy or like you need to compromise parts of yourself.”
— The Nation‘s justice correspondent Elie Mystal does not understand why anyone would be offended by Lizzo’s dancing on stage while playing James Madison’s 1813 crystal flute on Tuesday night and shaking her behind.
Mystal instead made the viral moment about race:
If any of James Madison’s descendants is offended by Lizzo wants to try out the 200 year old Iron Collar white folks would affix to our ancestors who tried to escape James Madison’s clutches, I’m sure somebody at the National Museum of African American History could hook you up.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 29, 2022
— For Billy Eichner, you’re guilty until proven innocent of homophobia. And the only way of proving your innocence is, of course, by going to see his new movie.
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) October 3, 2022