Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is being roasted for suggesting that President Donald Trump “kept the hurricanes away.”
Noem made the comments during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that was live-streamed, and she quickly gained traction on social media.
“Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. Even you kept the hurricanes away,” Noem told Trump.
Highlights
- Kristi Noem praised Trump for 'keeping hurricanes away' during a live cabinet meeting, sparking wide social media mockery.
- Noem claimed FEMA deployed resources 150% faster than before, despite the hurricane season ending with no U.S. landfalls.
- Critics, including Gavin Newsom, mocked Noem's comments, referencing Trump's past 'magical sharpie' hurricane forecast incident.
Kristi Noem was mocked for suggesting Donald Trump kept hurricanes away
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
She added, “We appreciate that.”
Noem went on to claim that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was deploying resources and dollars 150% faster than ever before.
Her comment came after Sunday marked the end of the Atlantic hurricane season, and it was the first time since 2015 that a hurricane did not make landfall in the U.S.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential race, was one of many to mock Noem online.
“ICYMI: Trump controls the weather,” Newsom tweeted.
A post on his official press office account also took aim at the comments, pointing to a now-infamous episode from Trump’s first term.
The account shared an image of when Trump used a black marker to alter an official hurricane forecast map in order to make it appear that Hurricane Dorian was projected to hit Alabama.
“It was his magical sharpie, wasn’t it Kristi?” it tweeted.
The Democrats' Homeland Security Committee also mocked the comments, suggesting Noem was reminiscent of North Korean propaganda.
“Glorious Supreme Leader has kept the hurricanes away. His power over the weather is unmatched,” the account tweeted.
Other social media users said the comments and Trump's reaction to them reminded them of a cult.
“It’s not praise, it’s a weather report written by a cult newsletter,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Trump used two sharpies this time. Hurricanes were really afraid!”
Noem made the comments during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting
“This is quite repulsive, sounds very North Korea Dictator nonsense,” a third posed.
While no hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. this season, there were 13 named storms, five of which became hurricanes, and four of those intensified into major hurricanes.
However, all of them stayed out at sea, while Hurricane Melissa hit the Caribbean with devastating impact.
Meteorologists say the U.S. was spared this year because of the way large-scale weather patterns guided storms.
A dip in the jet stream off the East Coast and weaker high pressure over the Gulf helped push hurricanes away from land, causing them to turn north into the open Atlantic instead of moving toward the shoreline.
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
This combination doesn’t happen often, but it kept even the strongest storms from reaching the mainland.
Marc Alessi, climate attribution fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told ABC News that it was extremely fortunate, given this year's hurricane season fell during the longest ever federal government shutdown.
“The forecasters at the NHC kept working, but without pay,” he said.
“The U.S. got lucky that no hurricanes made landfall during the government shutdown. FEMA response would have been limited.”