White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt drew severe backlash for suggesting that the devastating flooding in Texas, which claimed the lives of over 100 people was a “act of God.”
Tuesday marked the start of the fifth day of search and rescue efforts in central Texas. Over 100 people were declared dead when floodwaters from the Guadalupe River flooded through houses and vacation camps due to heavy rainfall. The deceased include at least 27 campers and counselors from the Camp Mystic, a legendary Christian girls camp in Kerr County.
During a press conference on Monday, she neglected to mention the Trump administration's dismantling of the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which were allegedly underfunded and understaffed at the time of tragedy.
At a Leavitt-hosted press conference at the White House on Monday, a reporter courageously called out the Trump administration.
Leavitt was questioned about why the alerts were delivered when most Americans were asleep and what steps the government is taking to make sure they are given out earlier in the future.
{{/usCountry}}Leavitt was questioned about why the alerts were delivered when most Americans were asleep and what steps the government is taking to make sure they are given out earlier in the future.
{{/usCountry}}“This was an act of God, it is not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did but there were early and consistent warnings,” she stated.
Karoline Leavitt's remark sparks outrage on social media
Videos of the incident went popular on X and other social networking sites, and angry users criticized the press secretary for her alleged lack of accountability for the issue, which they attributed to the administration's "fault."
“The more she denies it, the more it seems like it's kinda the admins fault, An act of God who is obviously not happy about the worship of false idols,” one X user wrote.
One person equated the remark to the administration's inability to once again hold the Biden administration accountable for the catastrophe, something the Trump administration has done before. One person remarked, “They couldn't blame Biden for this one so they blamed God.”
Other commenters, however, pointed out that the majority of insurance firms wouldn't accept an “act of God” as an excuse to pay out to their customers.
“Good luck trying to get insurance to cover God's deadly vengeful flood,” one person said, while one more commented, “Most insurance excludes acts of God. So there goes any insurance coverage if they actually was any.”
Some were quick to shift the blame to the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which essentially slashed the staff at the NWS and NOAA that forecast and alert locals about significant weather events, such as the storms and thunderstorms.