OPINION
Premium

Stephanopoulos Is Under Water With Flood Accusations, and 25 years Is Too Little Time to Become Citizens?

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Jul 08, 2025
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Get access to Brad Slager's "Riffed From the Headlines," a daily VIP feature where he looks to bring accountability to the mainstream media. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!

Prose & Contradiction – ABC NEWS

  • Can you confirm these reports without evidence? 

George Stephanopoulos was also among those with a desire to place blame for the Texas flooding on the Trump administration's cuts. As we covered yesterday, there was no impact of a loss of weather service personnel, and, in fact, in the region where the rains and flooding occurred, the notifications went out in a timely fashion, and the weather service had been overstaffed in preparation for the storms.

This did not deter Stephanopoulos from promoting this canard that there were “significant staffing shortfalls” as he threw to field reporter Mireya Villarreal on the ground in Texas. To her credit, Villarreal was gently resisting that narrative as she resorted to the known facts about the response to the weather system:

“You know, George, as of right now, the local county officials really didn’t want to address that just yet. What they are telling us is they expected between four and six inches of rain—that is what weather experts told them. The National Weather Service as well. They also knew that in remote locations, they might get anywhere from eight to ten inches. But this amount of rain, in such a short amount of time, it was very difficult to navigate.”

Both Kinds of Standards – CNN

Recommended

Massive Earthquake Off Kamchatka Coast Triggers Tsunami Fears, Entire West Coast on Watch Matt Vespa
The Biggest Lie of Them All Alan Joseph Bauer

  • So, it's only acceptable when you resort to that kind of reaction?

Dana Bash has had a disturbing few days of flood coverage, as she has been insistent on blaming the White House, unlike with last year’s hurricane in the Carolinas, when she was telling us that weeks later it was unacceptable to politicize the response.

Now, she is saying that Republicans have not been able to politicize the flood response because it took place in a red state, as she is in the process of politicizing the flood response.

Glossary Over Things – ABC NEWS

  • This gets filed under “Disturbing Interpretations.”

As a new deal for a Hamas-Israel ceasefire is negotiated, the issue of those hostages still being held is at the forefront. Now, in looking at the way ABC News described those held against their will, we have to assume one of two methods is in play.

By describing the hostages as “detainees,” they must be saying either:

  1. They are being legitimately held by the terror group.

  2. That the hostages are on the same level as illegal immigrants in this country, detained by ICE.

Gilded Reframe – THE ATLANTIC

  • There must be a reason for this 180 on the matter.

When it comes to facial coverings, we are seeing a bit of a major shift in opinion in the press. During COVID, the forced wearing of masks, and when protests and riots were all the rage, the media were rather supportive of those who shielded their identity.

Yet now we have The Atlantic expressing dismay that ICE agents cover their faces while enacting immigration raids across the country. The clear desire is to have the ability to identify and doxx these agents who they oppose enforcing the immigration laws.

Artisanally-Crafted Narratives – LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

  • It’s been less than three decades, what’s the rush?!

One of the latest moves from the Department of Homeland Security that has many in the illegal-sympathizing press is to rescind the temporary protected status of certain immigrant residents.

This has some at the Las Vegas paper upset that hundreds of Hondurans and Nicaraguans are affected. The reason for the protected status initially had been to flee harsh post-hurricane conditions, which occurred in 1999. Yet, even as they have been here for over 25 years, the paper and some Democrats feel that “temporary status still needs to be applied.