Trump voters aren’t to blame for Texas tragedy and their kids don’t ‘deserve to die’ | Opinion
I can’t believe this needs to be said, but: Children living in red states do not deserve to die because of who their parents voted for.
As a former camper, camp counselor, Girl Scout and Girl Scout leader, I was horrified to hear about the deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, where, among the missing are dozens of little girls missing at a girls’ Christian camp. The news left me nauseous with dread and sympathy for their grief-stricken families.
I cannot fathom the fear of the children and the courage of the adults as the waters rose, washing away their friends, as many made a mad scramble for safety.
Nearly 90 people are now either dead or missing across the state, mostly in Kerr County, and nearly half of those confirmed dead are children, in what is rapidly approaching the deadliest freshwater flood event in the U.S. in 50 years.
But to anyone who dares suggest that those campers’ parents — or Texas as a whole — deserves this tragedy for voting for Donald Trump: You have evil rot where a heart should be.
Social media has exploded in the last few days since the news broke, with accusations that Trump’s recent cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration caused a delay in notification. The proof of that claim remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the Texans who most needed those flood warning notifications did not receive them in time.
But the worst discourse has suggested that Texans somehow brought this tragedy upon themselves by voting for Trump.
Americans who are angry about the Trump Administration’s policies must avoid the dark urge to turn parents’ pain into a political prop.
The fault is not with the grieving famlies who just received the worst news of their lives, nor with Texans generally, who are still recovering from the loss and trauma of a natural disaster. This is not the time for witty bon mots on Facebook, Bluesky or X; it is a time for somber reflection and community support.
Imagine dropping off your beloved child at a summer camp, hoping they will make lifelong memories and friends, just to get a call in the middle of the night that they’re missing, presumed dead?
Blue state voters cannot claim to practice the politics of empathy and allyship if we turn on the grieving and sick in their moments of need.
These parents and victims deserve our empathy because they are people, first and foremost.
And for those of us watching from afar without a connection to the victims, we need to step away from the discourse and let the first responders do their work. We need to let the families grieve in whatever way they need to, without turning 28 young lives into fodder for America’s broken political system. We need to let the representatives we voted for make inquiries into how and why this disaster happened.
This tragedy is not about votes; it’s about human compassion, that thing that sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Because no one deserves to lose their child — not murderers nor saints, nor any of us in between.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 3:14 PM.
