ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
As Hurrican Milton makes landfall near Tampa Bay on Florida’s west coast, President Joe Biden commended the people of “America’s wang” for their “remarkable self-control” during this latest tropical tempest.
In a stark contrast to past storms, such as 2017’s Hurricane Irma, where some Floridians were encouraged by the former President Donald Trump to fire guns into the storm to “show it who’s boss,” the Biden noted that “no one tried to shoot the hurricane this time, and I think that shows real growth.”
The comment comes after a 2017 incident during Hurricane Irma, where a viral Facebook event which was amplified by comments made by Trump urged Floridians to shoot at the storm to prevent it from making landfall. The situation spiraled so quickly that local law enforcement had to step in, asking residents to please refrain from shooting weapons at the weather system.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, to the north of Tampa, tweeted a very specific warning: ‘DO NOT shoot weapons at Irma—you won’t make it turn around”.
“My expectations were not high but this time around, Floridians decided not to ‘blast the storm away,'” Biden continued, chuckling.
“And that’s a victory. I think Floridians have come a long way since 2017.”
In addition to thanking Floridians for their restraint, the President suggested that perhaps the state could become a role model for other hurricane-prone areas.
“If we can get Floridians to understand shooting a weather system the size of Europe won’t affect it, maybe we can get them to change their mind on other things, like the election next month,” he quipped.
More to come.
