(Matthew Doarnberger, Headline USA) Betsy Packard, a former staff member at the University of Kentucky, recently took to social media to claim that Hurricane Helene was God’s way of punishing Donald Trump’s supporters.
Following the destruction that left over 100 dead in the southeast, Packard posted what she thought was the cause of the devastation, the Dail Mail reported.
“Hurricane Helene … what if GOD is punishing MAGA populations for their hate and hypocrisy? Works for me!”
About an hour later, she doubled down on the claim of the almighty having it in for those she politically disagrees with, the New York Post noted.
“Hey. If they got hit with An Act of God of this magnitude, God must be REALLY pissed off with MAGA.”
An Act of God hammered you, and you still din't hear Him? God is obviously mighty pissed at MAGAs. How can you not see this?
— BetsyPackardPoet&Writer (@BetsyPackardPo1) September 29, 2024
A spokesperson with the university told the Daily Mail that school officials were aware of the posts and stated that Packard had not worked at the school since 2022, when she was employed as a teaching assistant.
University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton condemned Packard’s harmful rhetoric in a statement released by the school.
“Such statements are abhorrent and do not reflect our values as an institution,” Blanton said.
“Our thoughts and concerns are with those impacted by these devastating storms,” he continued. “As an institution, we have many members of our community directly impacted by them and are working with them to provide support and resources at this time.”
Considering that Buncombe County, N.C. was one of the hardest hit areas by the storm, Packard’s assertion that “MAGA” was being punished doesn’t seem to make sense.
Joe Biden was able to win the county (which includes the city of Asheville) with almost 60% of the vote in 2020.
More that 1,000 residents of Buncombe County remain unaccounted for as emergency responders scramble to locate them. At least 40 deaths as a result of Helene have come from that county alone.
The University of Kentucky had deleted Packard’s profile from the English department website as of Monday morning.
