The Texas flooding tragedy that has claimed so many lives has also become a battleground for partisans attempting to place blame on their opponents for the catastrophe.
Many critics on the left are trying to blame cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made by the Trump administration for the deaths of at least 95 people from disastrous flooding, according to NBC News. Twenty-seven of the deaths were counted among campers and counselors from Camp Mystic.
‘When everything is labeled “extreme weather,” nothing seems extreme any more.’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt forcefully denied the allegations during Monday’s media briefing.
“Ninety-one innocent souls have now perished,” she said.
“President Trump swiftly signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, Texas, to ensure our heroic first responders have every resource they need in the relief and recovery efforts,” Leavitt added.
“Unfortunately, in the wake of this once-in-a-generation national disaster, we have seen many falsehoods pushed by Democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] and some members of the media,” she said. “Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning.”
On Monday, Leavitt may have found an unlikely ally as she pushed back on those reports. In his daily “Reliable Sources” newsletter, CNN media analyst Brian Stelter appeared to put some of the blame on the media for constantly tossing weather emergency warnings at the public.
Stelter cited reporting from the CNN team that warnings were sent out ahead of the flooding, but the question was whether those warnings reached “who they needed to reach.”
He went on to say that “warning fatigue” was being cited by more experts as one of the causes of the disaster.
“When everything is labeled ‘extreme weather,’ nothing seems extreme any more,” Stelter explained.
RELATED: Horror and heroism in Texas as search for flood survivors continues
In addition to CNN’s reporting, a separate Politico report documented that warnings were sent as early as 12 hours ahead of the flooding but said that they may not have been interpreted well enough by local law enforcement to prevent the death and destruction.
“The crux of this disaster is a failure of the last mile of communication,” said Tom Fahy of a National Weather Service union. “The forecasts went out, they communicated the forecasts, they disseminated the watches and warnings. And the dilemma we have is there was nobody listening at 4 o’clock in the morning for these watches and warnings.”
On Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said that more than 36 people continued to be unaccounted for, and there may be other casualties not yet discovered.
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