No one has ever accused Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman who once blamed California wildfires on Jewish space lasers, of having a grip on reality. But apparently her unhinged comments concerning the government’s ability to “control“ the weather—ensuring that hurricanes Helene and Milton only hit red parts of the country—have been a bridge too far for even her Republican colleagues.
To backtrack for a moment: Greene’s first social media post regarding the natural disasters came on October 3, when she shared an image of Helene’s path over a map of the 2020 presidential election results; the map, The Hill notes, was created by a user who conspiratorially wrote, “The storm seemed to almost methodically miss the bluest parts of those crucial swing states, while simultaneously ravaging the red parts. What a crazy coincidence!” He added: “There were a few notable exceptions, like Ashville (which is about 60% blue), but besides that, the larger blue cities seemed to almost all get ‘lucky’ together.” That same day, Greene declared on X: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
In response, GOP representative Carlos Gimenez wrote: “NEW FLASH —> Humans cannot create or control hurricanes. Anyone who thinks they can, needs to have their head examined.”
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On his congressional website, GOP representative Chuck Edwards, who represents Asheville, posted an eight-point list “debunking” various claims about the response to Helene. While he did not mention Greene directly by name, point number one read: “Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government” and “Nobody can control the weather.”
One day later, Joe Biden called out the falsehoods that have been promoted over the last several weeks, saying: “Now the claims are getting even more bizarre. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We’re controlling the weather. It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop. Moments like this, there are no red or blue states.”
Greene, of course, is not the only prominent individual making absurd claims concerning the devastating natural disasters affecting the southeast. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have also engaged in a spreading of misinformation that seems unlikely to stop anytime soon—and definitely not before next month’s election.
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