As Texas reels from the deadliest flood in decades, a political firestorm ignites—not just over disaster response, but over the appalling spectacle of a former Treasury Secretary weaponizing tragedy for a swipe at his opponents.
At a Glance
- Catastrophic flash floods in Central Texas leave at least 82 dead, most heartbreakingly including 27 children and counselors from Camp Mystic.
- Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers draws widespread outrage for politicizing the tragedy, claiming new federal legislation will cause “2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas.”
- Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slams Summers, calling his remarks “feckless and deeply offensive,” and demands an apology.
- The incident triggers fierce debate about government priorities, disaster response, and the cynical use of human suffering for political gain.
Texas Tragedy: Real Loss, Real People—Not Political Props
Early July 2025 delivered the kind of news no parent, no family, no community should ever have to endure. Torrential rains hammered Central Texas, sending the Guadalupe River surging up 26 feet in under an hour—right as the Fourth of July weekend was in full swing. The disaster left a trail of heartbreak: at least 82 dead, with dozens still missing, among them 27 children and counselors from the beloved Camp Mystic. The National Weather Service did warn of danger, but the sheer speed and ferocity of the storm overwhelmed even the best efforts of first responders and local authorities.
As devastated families and a shell-shocked community searched for answers and comfort, the debate over disaster preparedness and response flared up—fueled by media scrutiny and the raw anger that comes when lives are lost and questions linger about whether more could have been done. This story should have remained about compassion, accountability, and the urgent need to help those suffering. Instead, it became a grotesque stage for political grandstanding by those all too eager to exploit the pain of others for their own agendas.
Politicizing Pain: Summers’ Outrageous Claims Ignite a Firestorm
Enter Larry Summers, a former Treasury Secretary with a long track record of pontificating from the ivory tower. In what can only be described as a jaw-dropping display of tone-deafness, Summers went on national television and compared the Texas tragedy to projected deaths from the Trump administration’s legislative agenda. Citing a controversial Yale Budget Lab estimate, he claimed the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” would cause “2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas this weekend”—a figure that, conveniently, has not been independently verified and strains the bounds of credibility.
Summers’ attempt to use fresh graves and grieving families as props for his policy attack drew immediate and fierce condemnation. Scott Bessent, the current Treasury Secretary, responded with a stinging rebuke, calling Summers’ remarks “feckless and deeply offensive.” Bessent did not mince words: he demanded an apology, and even suggested that institutions affiliated with Summers should rethink their association with someone willing to turn tragedy into a political cudgel.
Common Sense, Compassion, and the Constitution Under Assault
The real outrage here isn’t just the appalling death toll or the devastation wrought by the floodwaters. It’s the spectacle of elites hijacking a disaster to push their political fantasies—while everyday Americans clean up the mess, bury their dead, and wonder why no one in Washington ever seems to stand up for common sense, decency, or the Constitution any more. When a former Treasury Secretary uses the deaths of children as ammunition in a policy debate, it’s not just bad taste. It reveals a fundamental rot in our political discourse—the willingness to sacrifice respect, unity, and basic humanity on the altar of partisan gain.
The politicization of tragedy is not new, but it’s become depressingly predictable. Instead of sober discussions about infrastructure, flood preparedness, or the role of federal versus state responsibility, we get doomsday death tolls plucked from dubious statistical models and served up as “fact.” Instead of mourning with the families of Camp Mystic, we get lectures about how only more government, more spending, and more control can save us from ourselves. It’s as if every crisis is just another excuse for the usual suspects to clamor for more power, more money, and less freedom for the rest of us.
What Texans—and America—Deserve: Real Leadership, Not Political Theater
The families of Kerr County and the children of Camp Mystic deserve more than to be pawns in a political chess match. They deserve answers about what happened, accountability from those responsible for public safety, and real support as they rebuild. They deserve a government that respects their rights, their values, and their grief—not one that sees every tragedy as a shiny new talking point. And above all, they deserve leaders who will put compassion before calculation, and truth before theater.
As the search for the missing continues and the debate over disaster response grinds on, one thing is clear: the real battle in America isn’t between left and right, but between those who see tragedy as a reason to serve—and those who see it as an opportunity to score points. For the sake of our communities, our Constitution, and our basic decency, let’s hope the former still outnumber the latter.
