MSNBC host Joy Reid compared Floridians fleeing the Sunshine State to escape Hurricane Ian to asylum-seeking migrants crossing the border — in what critics blasted as a “shameful” attempt at politicizing a natural disaster.
Reid made the eyebrow-raising comments during Tuesday night’s installment of “The ReidOut” as she discussed how the “fixated on immigration” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had to take a break from “owning the libs” to manage the emergency.
DeSantis, a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has been frequently criticized by the far-left pundit for arranging to have dozens of Venezuelan migrants flown from San Antonio, Texas, to posh liberal enclave Martha’s Vineyard.
“It’s a bit ironic now that you might have Floridians having to pour over the borders and go north and get out of the state of Florida in the exact same crisis we have been talking about on a trolling level in that state for a long time,” Reid said.
Cars flooded Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Ian’s arrival.
Asylum-seeking migrants walk next to the border wall after crossing the Rio Grande to El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, September 25, 2022.
Go Nakamura for NY Post
“And be careful about attacking people who have to move to save their own lives and safety, because you never know who, it’s your people that have to move, when it’s your people who have to migrate, when it’s your people who have to get on that road,” she continued.
About 2.5 million Floridians were under evacuation orders ahead of the Category 4 storm’s projected Wednesday afternoon landfall.
Dumbfounded critics were quick to hit back at the progressive pundit.
“That is a shameful statement to make,” one person declared on Twitter.
DeSantis, a possible GOP presidential contender, was “fixated on immigration,” Reid said.
“Oh, let’s wring some partisan politics out of a natural [absolutely nothing to do with carbon emissions] disaster. What a hack,” another seethed.
“Even in the face of impending disaster, they can’t leave politics for a day,” another critic tweeted, along with a face-plant emoji.
* Article from: The New York Post
