As Governor Greg Abbott increased accountability pressure on utility company CenterPoint Energy for power outages after Hurricane Beryl, he is being slammed by his own wave of criticism for what critics call a lackluster response to Texas’ recent disaster.
While Hurricane Beryl was hitting Texas shores, Abbott was in Asia for an economic development tour that lasted several days. Now, Abbott is under fire again for leaving the state while people are still without power to speak at the Republican National Convention.
Hurricane Beryl
On July 8, Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Texas coast as a category 1 storm causing massive damage to trees, homes, businesses, and importantly the energy grid which left many residents in the Houston area without power for more than a week.
Current estimates put the death toll at around 20 in Houston, with half of these deaths being attributed to the consequences of power outages.
Heat Wave
The hurricane and power outage came at a bad time for the Lonestar state, as it was currently in the grips of an intense heat wave that made it difficult for residents to recover without access to electricity.
According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, nearly 3 million people in the Houston area lost power because of the storm.
CenterPoint Blamed
Some residents, including Governor Abbott himself, have sought to hold CenterPoint Energy accountable for these massive outages that lasted days for customers in the wake of the hurricane. Abbott called for an investigation into the company and threatened to impose an executive order that would force requirements on CenterPoint.
“Maybe they have too large of an area for them to be able to manage adequately,” Abbott said. “It’s time to reevaluate whether or not CenterPoint should have such a large territory.”
Abbott’s Trip
While Abbott has been trying to lay the blame for the disaster at the feet of the utility company, he has been facing intense criticism of his own for leaving the state during the storm to meet with Asian leaders across the world.
“Uh, read the room…… You’re 1/2 way around the world while the people of your state struggle. Right now, furthering our relationship with Japan isn’t super important,” said an X user in response to a post from Abbott celebrating a meeting with Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on July 12.
Disaster Delay
In the wake of the hurricane, President Joe Biden came out to accuse Abbott of causing a delay in federal relief needed for victims of the hurricane due to difficulty reaching him.
“I’ve been trying to track down the governor to see — I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden said of a delay in releasing federal disaster resources to Texas.
Leaving For the RNC
The criticism of Abbott’s absences continued into this week when the governor announced plans to go speak at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin.
“Greg Abbott fled from Hurricane Beryl, leaving millions without power during a heat advisory. Now, he’s left Texas behind once again for the RNC,” said the official Texas Democrat party account on X.
Texans Without Power
In their July 17 X post, Texas Democrats shared a graphic accusing the governor of “skipping town” while 300,000 Texas residents were still without power.
“Texans can’t count on our grid, but we can count on our Republican “leaders” to ignore a natural disaster that left hundreds of thousands without power,” wrote the Texas Democrats account in an X post on Friday.
Continued Criticism
Abbott’s posts on X about the RNC have been a gathering ground for his critics, who won’t let the governor post something without decrying his response to the hurricane.
“It’s time for you to use the money you’re spending on barbed wire to fix the power grid for Texans, that in are currently in need of reliable power,” wrote one X user on his most recent post. “Find your way back from Korea?” wrote another.
Monday Quarterbacking
Supporters of the governor accuse his critics of being unreasonable and just trying to score political points. They point out that thanks to modern technology, a governor can still be assisting his state remotely from anywhere, even during a crisis.
“It’s easy to play Monday-morning quarterback in these situations,” said Matt Hirsch, a former deputy chief of staff to Abbott, in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “But looking at the bigger picture, the governor is still governor no matter where he goes. We live in a day and age now where you don’t have to be there on the ground to do the necessary things to respond to a storm like this.”
Importance of Trip
While the governor’s critics have railed against him for leaving the state for Asia, Hirsch emphasized the importance of maintaining these relationships in the long run.
“Relationships matter,” Hirsch said. “There’s nothing more impactful from an economic development standpoint than showing up. I think that matters a great deal to the companies over there, the traditions and the cultures. It is a source of pride and it is a tremendous deal.”
Megan Thee Stallion
While Abbott was at the RNC, a viral post from X user Pop Crave shared that rapper Megan Thee Stallion had been helping her Houston hometown by launching an emergency power program. The post prompted a comparison by some users between Stallion and Abbott.
“Not all heroes wear capes….meanwhile Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz were at the RNC kissing Trump’s *ss,” wrote an X user. “You know it’s bad when megan does more for texans than the government,” wrote another user.
