Donald Trump Jr weighs in ignorantly on the idea of opening Mar-a-Lago as a Hurricane Irma shelter
Donald Trump Jr, forever on a quest to prove he’s the “smart” one in the family, instead keeps finding ways to prove that he might be the dumbest of all. In the wake of Hurricane Irma hitting South Florida, any number of people have suggested that the Trump family should offer its Mar-a-Lago property as a shelter. For some reason, Junior thought it would be a good idea to respond to that suggestion in smarmy fashion.
Here’s what Donald Trump Jr tweeted this afternoon about the idea of opening Mar-a-Lago as a shelter: “It’s on an island on both the ocean & intercostal and in a mandatory evacuation zone… probably not the best idea, but you know, narrative!” The trouble: he apparently thinks intracoastal is spelled “intercostal.” The bigger trouble: no one has suggested that it be used as a shelter during storm. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey and the resulting floods in Houston, it was clear for all to see that large buildings were needed to serve as housing shelters for those whose homes had been damaged.
But Trump Junior, in his rush to serve up a clever response, unwittingly revealed that he failed to grasp why shelters were needed after Hurricane Harvey – and thus why they’re about to be needed after Hurricane Irma. Was he paying that little attention while these kinds of details were being broadcast on every television channel in the days after Harvey? But he wasn’t done displaying his ignorance.
In another tweet, Donald Trump Jr stated “I hope everyone that could heeded the advice to get out. Stay safe people.” That’s a nice sentiment, except that he doesn’t seem to understand the reason why a lot of people couldn’t evacuate: they’re poor. They ride a bus to work and they don’t have a car to evacuate in, or they can’t afford the gas money. They’ve been stuck riding out the storm, and some of their homes are becoming uninhabitable. If only there were a larger still-standing building they could take refuge in, whose owners aren’t currently using it for anything… such as Mar-a-Lago.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report