Trump, Musk and Greene's conspiracy theories about FEMA and the Democrats are having ominous implications for the election.

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. From there it made its way through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, leaving historic debris in its path as it flooded the region with 40 trillion gallons of water. In particular, the catastrophic damage in mountainous western North Carolina has attracted the most attention. Such storms are not allowed to happen in such places. Well, at least her were not.

The deployment of all hands on deck to assess the extent of the damage, save lives and livelihoods, and restore power, water and roads has understandably still not been fast enough for those most affected. And just as understandably, the shock and trauma of the storm have given way to conspiracy theories to make sense of it all. Theories that have been spread either verbally or via social media include the false theories that the government is destroying properties for lithium mining, that FEMA is razing buildings to cover up bodies, or that Democratic officials and the federal and state governments Doing this at the state level intentionally ignores the most Republican areas of the country.

There were also complaints, particularly early in the storm, that the media refused to cover what was happening in Western North Carolina or that the government had no money to help Americans suffering from the storm because it was all for Ammunition had been issued for Ukraine and Israel. Another far-right theory as to why the government supposedly hasn't committed resources to disaster relief – which, to be clear, it has – is because it is spending its budget on housing migrants.

However, the granddaddy of all conspiracy theories circulating may be one most zealously promoted by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to Greene, an undefined “they” — which, if we’re being generous, is supposed to be the Democrats, the deep state, or the “establishment” — can “control the weather.” In other words, “They” are actively working to devastate communities through historic storms.

It almost feels like a test run before the election to test whether the systems of deception still work operable.

Despite backlash from virtually all possible corners, she continues to push the idea that the government can amplify hurricanes and direct them down a path that will cause the greatest destruction to red America, ostensibly to cause chaos in swing states that cannot be in time for Voting restored. I've been covering Congress for some time, so I don't say this lightly: I'm not sure I've ever heard a representative say something so far from reality. But there are people who will believe it.

Federal, state and local officials are trying to steer recovery efforts, Democrat and Republicansare at their wits' end with the overwhelming amount of misinformation hampering their recovery efforts. They emphasized that they were impressed by the federal government's offers of help so far. Unfortunately, this sobriety – from local officials – does not extend to certain leadership positions in the Republican Party.

Donald Trump—from now on– hasn’t gone so far as to claim that Democrats control the hurricanes. But it has also fueled many other outrageous and dangerous theories. Last week, before a visit to North Carolina, he posted on social media that he was receiving “reports” that “the federal government and the state's Democratic governor are going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” At a rally in Michigan this week, Trump said that “Kamala has spent all of her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country,” and that “she used the FEMA money “like they stole it from a bank so they could give it to their illegal immigrants who they want to vote for them this season.” He said there were “no helicopters” to relieve people, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been unable to contact President Joe Biden.

All of this is obviously false. It's also quite frightening to see another dangerous hurricane move through the Gulf of Mexico and wreak even more havoc on the region.

What's worse is that one of the central pillars of social media is owned by a gullible fool who sometimes positions himself as the Trump campaign's consigliere, sometimes as a rally clown. Elon Musk has seemingly used his platform to spread every rumor that comes his way. Late last week, he released a note that said, “FEMA is not only failing to adequately assist those in difficulty, but is actively blocking citizens who are trying to help!”

This has been a recurring theme of his that FEMA is effectively working to make the situation worse. Fortunately, he eventually managed to get in touch with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, which calmed him down. That would have been good First Step, of course, before rumors are made public about how the federal government is refusing to help people.

The unfortunate question here as we approach Election Day is: Does this pattern sound at all familiar to you?

There is great discontent in large parts of the country. Trump comes along to either tell his own stories or to inflame those on the sidelines to blame the people. Local and state administrators from both parties insist there is no truth to these stories, but Trump and his sycophants spread them anyway.

In other words, no: the pattern and spread of misinformation that emerged after Hurricane Helene does not Give me confidence that if Kamala Harris wins by a narrow margin, the aftermath of the 2024 election will be smoother than that of 2020. It almost feels like a pre-election dry run to test whether the systems of deception are at a standstill operable. They certainly seem to be – only this time Elon Musk owns the social media platform that sets the pace of “news.”

The most disturbing thing about the idea that the government can control and direct hurricanes to maximize destruction, or that FEMA is actively working to prevent Republican areas from rebuilding, is the assumption that there is malevolence behind it. Most fact-checks of Greene's theory focus on the fact that it is obviously not scientifically possible for “her” to do what she describes. It is equally important to emphasize – and it is a shame that it needs to be emphasized – that “they” wouldn't want to do that. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party do not want hurricanes to kill, displace, and destroy American citizens. FEMA doesn't want Republicans to have problems getting water. However, if you are willing to believe these things, you are more than willing to believe that there can be a choice stolen – again.