Ann Coulter On Harvey: Houston’s Lesbian Mayor A More Credible Reason For Hurricane Than Climate Change
Many have argued that climate change played a part in the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Harvey, but Ann Coulter isn’t one of them. In fact, the conservative pundit opined on Twitter that Houston’s decision to elect a lesbian mayor sounds like a more plausible explanation for Harvey than climate change.
According to the HuffPost, the controversial Coulter spoke her mind about the Hurricane Harvey/climate change issue on Monday night, taking to Twitter to say that she doesn’t necessarily believe the storm was God’s way of punishing Houston for electing the openly lesbian Annise Parker, who served as the city’s mayor from 2010 to 2016. But she added that that explanation, for her, still makes more sense than blaming climate change for the damage caused by the hurricane.
Ann Coulter’s Hurricane Harvey statement came in response to an article from Politico, which described the hurricane as a good example of what climate change looks like “in a world that has decided, over and over, that it doesn’t want to take climate change seriously.” According to meteorologist and contributor Eric Holthaus, Houston’s mostly unplanned and unzoned setup contributed to the massive flooding that affected homes and businesses alike. He added that Houston might “never be the same again” after Harvey, which doubled the city’s monthly record for rainfall in just three days’ time.
I don't believe Hurricane Harvey is God's punishment for Houston electing a lesbian mayor. But that is more credible than "climate change." https://t.co/K7d7mopY5Q
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 29, 2017
Now is the time to say it as loudly as possible: Harvey is what climate change looks like. https://t.co/MTvWJ6LRLd
— POLITICO Magazine (@POLITICOMag) August 29, 2017
Citing information from Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, Holthaus’ Politico op-ed also noted that there’s a good chance Hurricane Harvey is America’s worst rainstorm in history. At the time of his report, Harvey produced the most intense rainfall among all Gulf Coast storms, and that was then believed to be an underestimate, as the op-ed was published with Harvey forecasted to bring another two days of rain.
As the HuffPost noted, Ann Coulter’s comments on Hurricane Harvey aren’t the first time she’s spoken negatively against LGBT individuals or culture. She was previously quoted as saying that gay marriage “is not a civil right,” and that gay men who are sexually active should “feel guilty” about what they do.
Likewise, Coulter has established herself as a climate change doubter in previous social media posts and public statements, saying in a 2015 Facebook post that she’d be willing to give money to any political candidate who doubts the phenomenon. Earlier this year, she had also spoken to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, commenting about the “awesome hypocrisy” of some prominent individuals who had criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out from the historic Paris Climate Accord.
Meanwhile, a report from Uproxx suggests that Ann Coulter has been responding to criticism of her Hurricane Harvey tweet, even calling out one publication for allegedly taking things out of context, and not reading deeper into her post. Annise Parker, the former Houston mayor referenced in Coulter’s tweet, has yet to comment publicly on the issue.
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