Perhaps CNN’s management is not aware of the fact that there's already a Game Show Network. But someone should tell them before they double down on their attempt to engage in the Blame Game after the horrendous floods around Texas' Guadalupe River and Donald Trump’s visit to the zone.
The Daily Wire’s Catherine Maxwell recalled with savage clarity reminders of the fact that FEMA already has a tragic record, and that CNN’s toxic attack might be more than a bit misdirected.
“A recent CNN report blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for delaying the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the Texas flash floods. But the outlet ignored FEMA’s decades-long history of delays and mismanagement.
In the article, anonymous FEMA officials said recent changes to the organization caused delays in its ability to send aid to Texas. Most of the blame fell on Noem’s new rule requiring her personal sign-off on all grants and contracts of more than $100,000.”
Practically, many Americans might think it wise to see more deliberation over the spending of federal cash derived from massive borrowing and taxation, but when time is of the essence, such deliberation might be seen as a drawback and unreasonable.
Obviously, depending on perspective (especially if one is in a flood zone and wants quick help, or one is in a flood zone watching the waste, incompetence, and mismanagement of FEMA that has been on display year after year), one might criticize or praise FEMA, one might agree or disagree with CNN.
But one also can notice the great facility CNN displays in its attack on the Trump Admin while avoiding the sticky problem of previous FEMA screw-ups under previous administrations.
Maxwell notes the piling-on phenomenon, which is very noticeable, reflected in multiple attacks on Homeland Security head Kristi Noem.
“Noem told ‘Fox & Friends’ the CNN story was ‘absolutely trash,’ noting that ‘Our Coast Guard, our Border Patrol BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Unit) teams were there immediately. Every single thing they asked for, we were there.’
But Democrats have used the story to criticize the Trump administration’s response to the Texas floods, which have killed at least 121 people.”
Democrats such as Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) blamed “dramatic cuts” to FEMA and the National Weather Service for a poor federal response to the flood.
And notes Maxwell:
“But meteorologists say there is no evidence that federal cuts delayed warnings or response times, The Daily Wire previously reported.
‘There is little evidence that any of the recent cuts to NOAA/NWS negatively impacted services for this event, regardless of what may be being said on social media,’ said Alan Gerard, a former director of the Analysis and Understanding Branch in the National Severe Storms Laboratory at NOAA.”
But that has not stopped CNN from engaging in sudden criticism, when, of course, such vituperative reporting was virtually nonexistent on their webpages or screens during the Biden Administration, and in February, we at MRCTV reported on FEMA employing a censorship group called Guidehouse, Inc (a subsidiary of Bain Capital) to squash criticism during said Biden Admin.
Several incidents underscore FEMA’s horrible track record. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, FEMA’s response exhibited delays in aid delivery, blocks of private aid, and poor coordination, leaving thousands stranded in New Orleans. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, FEMA faced backlash for its sluggish aid distribution and logistical failures. Reports noted that supplies sat undistributed at ports while residents struggled without power, clean water, or food, contributing to thousands of deaths. FEMA mishandled its response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012, where bureaucratic red tape and insufficient preparedness delayed recovery efforts for affected communities in New York and New Jersey.
Related: FEMA Blocks Private Aid in Hurricane Helene Aftermath, Sparks Public Outrage
Maxwell also refers to FEMA’s mismanagement during the 2018 California wildfires, where slow federal assistance and misallocated resources hindered recovery for displaced residents.
We at MRCTV have noted FEMA’s slothful and expensive response to Hurricane Helene last year, as well as the explosive fact that FEMA was using some of its money to send “aid” to immigration-packing “Sanctuary Cities.”
But, as is the case with federal funding for “Sanctuary Cities,” the idea of FEMA, itself, runs contrary to the U.S. Constitution. Not only is the word “immigration” not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution – meaning that the feds are not supposed to subsidize people’s moves into the country, and immigration is supposed to be handled by the states – but the very idea of federal government “aid” for “emergencies” is inimical to the philosophy underpinning the U.S. Constitution.
Photo by: FEMA