As many Texans continue to live without power and deal with the damage from Hurricane Beryl, President Joe Biden continues to put politics over the needs of the country. Biden’s faux call out of the Texas government is insulting to Texans in their time of need.
Biden told the Houston Chronicle he had been trying to “track down” the governor to start the process of requesting aid. “I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have the authority to do that without a specific request from the governor.” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has been in Asia for the past several days, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-TX) has assumed the role of acting governor in his absence. The plans for this trip had been filed ahead of time, so the president’s claim about “tracking down” the governor is simply political grandstanding.
This puts a stark contrast to the previous instances of Biden taking time to focus on unity after major disasters. In a tour of Louisiana in 2021 after a hurricane struck that state, Biden said, “There’s nothing political about this. It’s just simply about saving lives and getting people back up and running, and we’re in this together.” What makes this one different? The president’s refusal to put politics aside and figure out how to get Texans the aid they need is insulting to his duty to them.
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Patrick took to X to express his disappointment with the president, stating, “He falsely accused me of being unreachable. He clearly did not realize that his own FEMA employees were by my side for three days! All he needed to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me. I even took a photo with them! Before making a formal request, we first needed to assess our outstanding needs, which we were actively doing alongside local officials as we toured the affected areas. While I was receiving a briefing today, the President called. To quote President Biden, this is a load of malarkey, and he’s shoveling it!”
Regardless of responsibility for the aid delay, it is reprehensible that Biden seized the earliest opportunity to criticize Republican leadership in Texas. With at least nine fatalities and widespread finger-pointing, this is a moment demanding presidential efforts to unite rather than divide. He has shown he can do it before, but he seems largely ineffective now. As millions endure power outages during the post-storm heat wave, Biden’s choice to prioritize interviews criticizing Texas officials during the crisis underscores his apparent lack of commitment to finding solutions.