ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Pounded For Deceptive Coverage Of Texas Flooding
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos is coming under fire for his perceived anti-Trump coverage of the catastrophic flash floods that killed dozens in Texas on Saturday, reporting “significant staffing shortfalls” at federal weather stations.
During his “This Week” broadcast on Sunday, Stephanopoulos said to his correspondent Mireya Villarreal on the scene in Kerr County, Texas: “We’re also learning there were significant staffing shortfalls to the National Weather Services offices in the region.”
Villarreal replied: “You know, George, as of right now, the local county officials really didn’t want to address that just yet. What they are telling us is they expected between four and six inches of rain. That is what weather experts told them. The National Weather Service as well.
“They also knew that in remote locations, they might get anywhere from eight to ten inches. But this amount of rain, in such a short amount of time, it was very difficult to navigate. And when the Department of Homeland Security secretary was here just yesterday, she acknowledged this was an issue. She was going to take these concerns to the White House as well and try and see if there was anything they could do to revamp the system. She says the president is committed to it.”
Cullen Linebarger at the Gateway Pundit noted of Stephanopoulos’ staffing claim: “This would be disturbing news if true. But unsurprisingly, it turns out Stephanopoulos was spreading an easily debunked lie so that he could make Trump look like a villain again.”
According to the NBC-TV affiliate in Dallas, there were actually “extra staffers” on duty: “NWS Meteorologist Jason Runyen said the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms.
“Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather, they had up to five on staff.
“‘There were extra people in here that night, and that’s typical in every weather service office – you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,’ Runyen said.”
During his “This Week” broadcast on Sunday, Stephanopoulos said to his correspondent Mireya Villarreal on the scene in Kerr County, Texas: “We’re also learning there were significant staffing shortfalls to the National Weather Services offices in the region.”
Villarreal replied: “You know, George, as of right now, the local county officials really didn’t want to address that just yet. What they are telling us is they expected between four and six inches of rain. That is what weather experts told them. The National Weather Service as well.
“They also knew that in remote locations, they might get anywhere from eight to ten inches. But this amount of rain, in such a short amount of time, it was very difficult to navigate. And when the Department of Homeland Security secretary was here just yesterday, she acknowledged this was an issue. She was going to take these concerns to the White House as well and try and see if there was anything they could do to revamp the system. She says the president is committed to it.”
Cullen Linebarger at the Gateway Pundit noted of Stephanopoulos’ staffing claim: “This would be disturbing news if true. But unsurprisingly, it turns out Stephanopoulos was spreading an easily debunked lie so that he could make Trump look like a villain again.”
According to the NBC-TV affiliate in Dallas, there were actually “extra staffers” on duty: “NWS Meteorologist Jason Runyen said the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms.
“Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather, they had up to five on staff.
“‘There were extra people in here that night, and that’s typical in every weather service office – you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,’ Runyen said.”
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