POLITICUSUSA
Greg Abbott has instituted plenty of policies that make it harder for Texans to stay safe from COVID. As a result, the state is currently seeing yet another surge of the deadly disease.
Abbott, though, has made it very easy for himself to stay safe from COVID. The Texas governor has not only been vaccinated against the disease, he’s even received a 3rd booster shot. And in announcing that he had COVID, Abbott announced that he will be treated the the expensive drug Regeneron.
Texas is the biggest red state in the county. And because of that, many of its residents have refused to get inoculated against COVID-19.
Governor Greg Abbott certainly hasn’t helped matters. Like, Ron DeSantis, his counterpart in Florida, Abbott is more focused on making the virus a culture war issue rather than actually doing anything about it.
Dallas and Bexar Counties are in limbo after the Texas Supreme Court temporarily halted lower court rulings that allowed local government agencies and school districts to implement mask mandates, which defy an order from Governor Greg Abbott (R). A hearing on the temporary injunction is expected today.
Governor Greg Abbott has cared much more about fighting the COVID culture war than about keeping people safe. Like Ron DeSantis, the Texas lawmaker has banned mask mandates in his state.
Abbott’s office said in a statement, “Governor Abbott has been clear that we must rely on personal responsibility, not government mandates. Every Texan has a right to choose for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, or get vaccinated.
The war is formalized in legal proceedings as the people are fighting back against Republican governors who prematurely eliminated the enhanced unemployment benefits
While most presidents spend their first year out of office under the radar, that hasn’t been the case for Donald Trump. The former president, desperate for adulation, is again holding political rallies.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared in Texas as Greg Abbott announced additions to the state’s border wall. The governor’s team made sure to shield the former president from any kinds of questions from non-Conservative reporters. During a night-time segment, Jim Acosta ripped Abbott for feeding into Trump’s delusions.
The reporter told Poppy Harlow, “We spent a day trapped in Trump’s alternate reality about the 2020 election. He was down here to meet with Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to talk about Abbott’s plan to spend $250 million on the border wall to fill in gaps in Trump’s border wall that weren’t completed during the Trump administration.”
Acosta continued:
“Abbott’s people went to great lengths to keep reporters from asking questions of the former president and so at this event at the border wall it got quiet for a few seconds and I tried to ask the question: ‘do you apologize for what happened on Jan. 6th?’ Trump knew what was going on. He looked right at me and did not respond. That is when we heard boos from the crowd but keep in mind, this is not a crowd of Trump supporters. This was a crowd of Republican members of the House who skipped out on the vote today for the Jan. 6th select committee that Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker proposed instead they were down in Texas kissing Trump’s ring. Another example how we’re not seeing profiles encouraged up on Capitol Hill on the Republican side.”
Fox News has always been quite loose with the truth. This weekend, though, they told a number of outright lies about the things that are in Joe Biden‘s infrastructure plan.
The anchors from the network repeatedly told viewers that the president wanted to limit Americans to one serving of ground beef a month. The story quickly went viral in Conservative social media circles.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott helped push the lie. On Saturday he tweeted a screenshot about the “restrictions” and wrote, “Not gonna happen in Texas!”
Not gonna happen in Texas! pic.twitter.com/zqYS9kH8CU
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 25, 2021
On Monday, Fox host John Roberts admitted that Biden wasn’t trying to restrict meat consumption at all. He told viewers:
“On Friday, we told you about a study from the University of Michigan to give perspective on President Biden’s ambitious climate change goals. That research, from 2020, found that cutting back how much red meat people eat would have a drastic impact on harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The data was accurate but a graphic and script incorrectly implied that it was part of Biden’s plan for dealing with climate change. That is not the case.”
It is very rare that Fox News will admit to its mistakes. The network regularly enables lies from Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. This lie, however, turned out to be so egregious that something needed to be said.
Watch a video of the apology below:
Fox gently acknowledges that its coverage about Biden supposedly trying to force Americans to eat less red meat wasn't accurate: "A graphic and a script incorrectly implied that it was part of Biden's plan for dealing with climate change. That is not the case." pic.twitter.com/iClZSk8P4M
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) blamed the Biden administration for spreading Covid-19 in his state just days after he rescinded the statewide mask mandate and ordered all businesses to fully reopen against the advice of public health experts.
“The Biden administration was releasing illegal immigrants into our community who had Covid,” he told Fox News. “The Biden administration was spreading Covid in South Texas yesterday because of their lack of constraint of testing and quarantining people who come across the border illegally. The Biden administration was exposing Texans to Covid. That is a Neanderthal-type approach to dealing with the Covid situation.”
Abbott issued his remarks after President Joe Biden criticized the states of Texas and Mississippi for lifting their mask mandates, warning that easing health guidelines now would be catastrophic, undermining the nationwide vaccination effort.
“I think it’s a big mistake. Look, I hope everybody realizes by now that masks make a big difference. We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because the way in which we are able to get vaccines,” Biden told reporters yesterday. “The last thing we need is the Neanderthal thinking that, in the meantime, everything is fine, take off our mask, forget it.”
Last week, the state of Texas experienced massive power outages due to a winter storm. The leaders of the state, many of them Republicans, didn’t seem to be interested in helping their constituents.
Ted Cruz famously took off for Cancun. Little was heard from Senator John Cornyn and Governor Greg Abbott mostly seemed interested in going on Fox News and promoting nonsense.
Democrats like Beto O’Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stepped up, found shelter for people experiencing blackouts and raised millions of dollars.
According to a new piece on Fox News, though, O’Rourke and AOC weren’t doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. Adam Shaw writes that the Dems were trying to “capitalize” on Texas’ misfortune.
The author spends a fair amount of time on the Green New Deal which had absolutely nothing to do with the disaster. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
who has raised millions for relief efforts in Houston and who is also a promoter of the controversial Green New Deal, has countered by saying the crisis was proof of the need for such a proposal”
Former Representative Beto O’Rourke criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott for blaming Texas’s current power disaster on the Green New Deal, which has yet to be implemented.
Abbott blamed solar energy and wind turbines for power outages in his state, which has been battered by a winter storm that has left countless residents without water or electricity.
“This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America,” Abbott told Fox News personality Sean Hannity during an appearance yesterday. “Our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10 percent of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. … It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary.”
In fact, the majority of Texas’s energy losses are the result of a failure to winterize power-generating systems.
Texas Gov. Abbott blames solar and wind for the blackouts in his state and says "this shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America" pic.twitter.com/YfVwa3YRZQ
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation closing down satellite ballot drop off offices in Texas in a move to help Trump.
The Governor of Texas has credited Sean Hannity with mask wearing in his state after the Fox News’ personality urged viewers to don a face covering to fight Coronavirus.
Greg Abbott told Fox News’ morning program Fox & Friends on Friday that Texas was now following Hannity’s suggestion.
“What Texas has begun to do is exactly what Sean Hannity preaches every night, and that is to wear a mask,” Abbot said.
Watch the video:
Gov. Greg Abbott: "What Texas has begun to do is exactly what Sean Hannity preaches every night, and that is to wear a mask." pic.twitter.com/KfkJRKN4Fs
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) July 24, 2020
Hannity
discussed masks on his show
Texas Democrats are calling for another stay-at-home order in response to the state’s rising coronavirus case numbers. Texas continues to break records. The Lone Star State has logged 8,472 new cases and 81 new deaths thus far today, according to the latest statistics. Yesterday the state reported a record of 105 deaths due to the virus
“The health of our economy is tied to the health of our population,” Representatives Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela said in a joint statement. “As Texans, we want the economy to thrive, but that is not possible if the lives and health of our fellow Texans are at stake. Clearly, the surge in new COVID-19 cases, resulting in a greater number of deaths, are directly related to Texas’s premature reopening. Our call for action now is all we can do to prevent further deaths. The long-term sustainment of our economy depends on ensuring that Texans are healthy.”
They added: “Governor Abbott needs to issue a mandatory stay-at-home order. If the Governor believes that the numbers for our state are going to be worse next week, we must make every effort to protect our fellow Texans now.”
Earlier today, Governor Greg Abbott (R) broached the possibility of another lockdown.
“Things will get worse, and let me explain why,” he told KLBK TV in Lubbock. “The deaths that we’re seeing announced today and yesterday — which are now over 100 — those are people who likely contracted COVID-19 in late May. The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive.”
“The public needs to understand this was a very tough decision for me to make,” he continued. “I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 … the next step would have to be a lockdown.”
Beto O’Rourke has called on the Governor of Texas to resign over his handling of the Coronavirus. The former congressman blasted Greg Abbott for his failures during the pandemic.
O’Rourke was responding to an interview where Abbott criticized some local officials in the state who are calling for stay-at-home orders and other measures.
Abbott opens Texas too soon, issues mask order too late, denies local leaders authority to contain the virus — causing uncontrolled covid spread, many hospitalized & soon dead because of his negligence — and then blames local officials? Pathetic. Resign. https://t.co/UjKxKxfdQm
Vice President Mike Pence went to Texas to praise Gov. Greg Abbott for actions that led to a surge in coronavirus cases.
Critics have rounded on Texas Governor Greg Abbott for singling out young people as Coronavirus cases in the state rise. Abbott scolded the under-30s for not taking the virus seriously.
“We are beginning to see for the month of June an increase in the number of people testing positive who are in the age group the 20s, meaning between the age of 20 and 29,” the Republican said.
“People of that age group, they’re not following these appropriate, best health safety practices.”
“They are not wearing face masks, they’re not sanitizing their hands, they’re not maintaining social distancing,” Abbott said.
“And as a result, they are contracting COVID-19 at a record pace in the state of Texas.”
Abbott’s critics were quick to point out that he made it harder for cities to introduce more stringent Coronavirus safety measures. He even barred them from requiring face coverings.
Former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary Julián Castro was particularly critical.
“Greg Abbott believes in ‘individual responsibility’ for everyone except when it’s his turn to take some,” Castro tweeted.
“You opened up bars too early, blocked cities from requiring face masks, and failed to put enough testing and contact tracing in place. Poor leadership.”
“Greg Abbott allowed restaurants to increase to 75% of capacity and Austin – despite rising cases – can’t go against any of his orders. But yes, it’s the fault of the youths,” said ProPublica’s Jessica Huseman, herself a Texan.
Follow Darragh Roche on Twitter
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) admitted during a private call with lawmakers that reopening the economy would spread the coronavirus even as he publicly announced that he would end an executive stay-at-home order. The news was first reported by The Daily Beast; a spokesperson for Abbott confirmed the call is authentic.
“How do we know reopening businesses won’t result in faster spread of more cases of COVID-19?” Abbott asked during a Friday afternoon phone call with members of the state legislature and Congress. “Listen, the fact of the matter is pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening—whether you want to call it a reopening of businesses or of just a reopening of society—in the aftermath of something like this, it actually will lead to an increase and spread. It’s almost ipso facto.”
“The more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility is for transmission,” Abbott continued.
You can listen to a recording of the call HERE.
Abbott made the remarks on May 1, the same day he allowed certain businesses in his state to reopen “with limited occupancy.” At the time Abbott lifted the order, he received congratulations from President Donald Trump, whose administration continues to face heated criticism for its coronavirus response.
Texas to open businesses in phases beginning Friday. Great job being done by @GregAbbott_TX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2020
In a change of heart after the Santa Fe school shooting,
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that he could support some new gun control measures in his state. Abbott is a Republican who has always worked to expand gun rights and has been against any form of gun control laws or regulations.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday estimated damage from Hurricane Harvey at $150 billion to $180 billion, calling it more costly than epic hurricanes Katrina or Sandy and fueling a debate over how to pay for the disaster.
"It had to be political because Donald Trump was treated differently than any other scam artist in the 16 years I was at the consumer protection office."