FEMA Lies and Misinformation

Democrats rush to blame Trump for their failures. So, what else is new?

As I write this, a monster is bearing down on my home state of Florida. Floridians have barely begun digging out of the devastation of Hurricane Helene and now face a category 5 (wind speed above 157 mph) Hurricane named Milton, which has targeted Central Florida almost since its formation in the Gulf of Mexico. It is projected to hit the coast somewhere around Tampa late tonight or early tomorrow.

My area, Lake County, just northwest of Orlando, is expected to see massive flooding and potentially hurricane force winds of over 74 mph. At least we will be spared the storm surge on the coast which is so destructive and dangerous. I expect to be inconvenienced but am confident my wife and I are in no real danger. Living in Florida for nearly seven decades provides a degree of equanimity in the face of a hurricane.

In our day of instant, massive information overload and around-the-clock news and weather reporting, we are bombarded with relentless warnings and projections of just how bad things will be. They will be bad, for sure, but sometimes I worry that, if the storm is not as bad as anticipated, there will be relief, yes, but also disappointment. I liken it to the fable of the boy who cried, “Wolf,” so many times that, when a wolf really appeared, the warnings were ignored.

Our state is gearing up for Milton while it digs our of Helene. We don’t have time for games or political posturing to score points in the current period leading up to the presidential election in a mere 4 weeks. Which is why it is so infuriating to hear the lies coming from the democrats and the Harris campaign.

Since Helene ravaged a massive swath of the country from Florida up to the Carolinas, there have been reports of delays and inadequate resources in the delivery of relief from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. These are nothing new and such reports have plagued FEMA after almost every major disaster. FEMA’s failures range from the mismanagement of the overall response after Hurricane Katrina, to inefficient distribution of aid, to such basic issues as allowing minor obstacles to impede delivery of relief.

One of the most prominent recent claims is that FEMA funds have been diverted to “providing housing, food, health care and transportation for illegal immigrants through grants to activist NGOs and “sanctuary” cities.” Harris and the democrats have characterized such claims as misinformation, but that lie is easy to refute.    

We have already experienced what happens when the government claims that anything that contradicts whatever story it is promoting is misinformation and seeks to censor this. The recent collusion of our federal government and the giants of social media to censor citizens is proven fact and arguably the greatest assault on our first amendment rights in the history of our nation.

Now, in the wake of Helene, reports of FEMA’s failings are being characterized by Kamala Harris as misinformation and, of course, the blame lies with Trump.

Harris has claimed that our governor, Ron DeSantis, is playing political games with Milton and refusing to accept her calls. DeSantis, widely regarded as one of the most effective governors in our state’s history “noted he’d been in contact with Biden and federal officials.” Remember Biden? He is supposedly still president and running the country while Kamala stumps on the campaign trail.  

“She has no role in this,” said DeSantis,“In fact, she’s been vice president for three and a half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration, and she has never contributed anything to any of these efforts.” He said, “Harris is “delusional” for criticizing him when he’s been focused on the people of his state.””

Some would ask, “is it worth it?” Is it worth living in a place where you face the risk every year of a devastating Hurricane? I suppose you could ask a similar question about most places. Other parts of the country are subject to earthquakes, floods, and tornados. For me, Florida is home and the occasional hurricane is a small price to pay for living in this wonderful place.

Richard T. Bosshardt, MD, FACS, Senior Fellow at Do No Harm, Founding Fellow at FAIR in Medicine

My book, The Making of a Plastic Surgeon: Two Years in the Crucible Learning the Art and Science, is a unique, entertaining, and informative glimpse into the most fascinating yet misunderstood specialty in medicine. It is great reading on a rainy day. It is available in eBook and paperback on Amazon.