Texas leadership officials have accused Democrat President Joe Biden of “turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue.”
Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s office slammed Biden for telling “a complete lie” that the White House was unable to “track down the governor” to discuss a response to the storm.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick labeled the claim as “Biden’s Hurricane Hoax.”
Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast early Monday.
The storm has now been classified as a weakened tropical depression.
When it landed in Texas, it caused significant flooding and knocked out power to millions of Americans.
Approximately 1.7 million residents, primarily in the southeastern portion of the state, were still without power as of Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
On Tuesday, Biden told the left-wing Houston Chronicle that his administration had been unable to provide prompt emergency aid to Texas following the storm’s landing because the White House was unable to “track down” state leaders.
Biden claimed his administration had been trying to speak with the governor to obtain a formal request for a major disaster declaration.
“I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden alleged.
The Chronicle, which endorsed Biden earlier this year, originally published the Democrat president’s suggestion without comment from state leaders.
Its report also contained a line that has since been removed.
The original report claimed that a White House spokesperson “said officials tried to reach Abbott and Patrick multiple times,” apparently without success.
Lone Star State officials have blasted Biden’s suggestion and the Chronicle’s report as being false.
Both Patrick and Gov. Abbott fired back on Tuesday, asserting that Biden was either lying or suffering one of his infamous brain malfunctions.
“I am disappointed that President Biden is turning Hurricane Beryl into a political issue,” Patrick wrote in a post on X.
“We had a cordial call today that ended up with him granting my request for a major disaster declaration.
“But that’s not good enough for him.
“He is falsely accusing me that I was not reachable.”
Patrick indicated further that Biden, who has been facing intense scrutiny from friends and foes alike over his degraded mental state, “obviously did not know his own employees from FEMA were side-by-side with me for 3 days!”
“All he had to do was call them and have them hand their phone to me,” continued Patrick.
“I even took a photo with them!
“Before we made an official ask, we needed to determine what our outstanding needs were.
“We were working with local officials as we traveled the impacted areas.
“As I was being briefed today, the president called.”
On Friday, Abbott traveled to Asia to cultivate and strengthen economic partnerships in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
Until Abbott’s return on Saturday, Lt. Gov. Patrick has been serving the people of Texas as their acting governor.
On July 5, days before the storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, Patrick declared a state of disaster.
The move authorized the use of all available state resources necessary to “cope with this disaster.”
The governor’s office confirmed Tuesday that Patrick had gone a step further and had spoken to Biden.
During the conversation with Biden, Patrik requested a federal disaster declaration through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The request for FEMA assistance was granted.
Adopting one of Biden’s go-to turns of phrase, Patrick said:
“This is a load of malarkey, and he’s shoveling it!”
On Wednesday morning, Patrick further called out “Biden’s lie.”
In a post on X, Patrick summarized the situation as “Biden’s Hurricane Hoax,” stating:
“I asked for a federal disaster declaration at the proper time without delay and the president agreed.
“Sadly, President Biden is attacking Gov. Abbott and me, trying to score political points, for reasons that make no sense.
“Mr. President, as you like to say, ‘C’mon, man!'”
Abbott similarly shredded Biden’s apparent attempt to suggest his administration had been unreachable.
“Biden’s memory fails again,” Abbott wrote in a Tuesday evening post on X.
“Not once did he call me during Beryl.
“He has my number & called me on Memorial Day after tornadoes hit Texas.
“I’ve had daily calls with state & local officials during Beryl.
“I spoke with FEMA Admin while on our trade mission but Biden never called.”
Andrew Mahaleris, the governor’s press secretary, said:
“This is a complete lie from Biden, and frankly doesn’t make any sense.
“Biden and his administration know exactly how to get in contact with the governor and have on numerous occasions in the past, most recently on Friday when FEMA called and spoke with him.”
Mahaleris also blasted the Houston Chronicle, noting:
“A lie travels halfway across the world before the truth puts its boots on.
“@HoustonChron ran a false exclusive story on this nonsense, based off what an incoherent president said before we had a chance to refute it.
“This is why Americans have lost faith in media.”
Follow the ‘link’ for the Article… Texas Officials Slam Biden's 'Complete Lie' about Hurricane Beryl
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