
Huge uproar as Karoline Leavitt blames Texas flood on 'Act of God' amid govt cuts, netizens remind ‘Most insurance...'
Tuesday marked the start of the fifth day of search and rescue efforts in central Texas. Over 100 people were declared dead when floodwaters from the Guadalupe River flooded through houses and vacation camps due to heavy rainfall. The deceased include at least 27 campers and counselors from the Camp Mystic, a legendary Christian girls camp in Kerr County.
During a press conference on Monday, she neglected to mention the Trump administration's dismantling of the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which were allegedly underfunded and understaffed at the time of tragedy.
At a Leavitt-hosted press conference at the White House on Monday, a reporter courageously called out the Trump administration.
Leavitt was questioned about why the alerts were delivered when most Americans were asleep and what steps the government is taking to make sure they are given out earlier in the future.
'This was an act of God, it is not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did but there were early and consistent warnings,' she stated.
Also Read: JD Vance heckled by protestors for dining at California's Sushi restaurant amid Texas flood tragedy: Watch viral video
Karoline Leavitt's remark sparks outrage on social media
Videos of the incident went popular on X and other social networking sites, and angry users criticized the press secretary for her alleged lack of accountability for the issue, which they attributed to the administration's "fault."
'The more she denies it, the more it seems like it's kinda the admins fault, An act of God who is obviously not happy about the worship of false idols,' one X user wrote.
One person equated the remark to the administration's inability to once again hold the Biden administration accountable for the catastrophe, something the Trump administration has done before. One person remarked, 'They couldn't blame Biden for this one so they blamed God.'
Other commenters, however, pointed out that the majority of insurance firms wouldn't accept an 'act of God' as an excuse to pay out to their customers.
'Good luck trying to get insurance to cover God's deadly vengeful flood,' one person said, while one more commented, 'Most insurance excludes acts of God. So there goes any insurance coverage if they actually was any.'
Some were quick to shift the blame to the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which essentially slashed the staff at the NWS and NOAA that forecast and alert locals about significant weather events, such as the storms and thunderstorms.

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India Today
a few seconds ago
- India Today
From ally to ‘dead economy': Timeline of Trump's tariff turn on India
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the stage like old friends, exchanging warm words and mutual praise that seemed to cement a partnership for the ages at the Howdy Modi event in September 2019 in Houston. "I'm so thrilled to be here in Texas with one of America's greatest, most devoted and most loyal friends, Prime Minister Modi of India," Trump told the cheering crowd. PM Modi returned the sentiment, calling Trump his "true friend in the White House" and praising him as "warm, friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit".advertisementFast-forward to August 2025, and that friendship lies in tatters. Trump has imposed 50% tariff on Indian goods, called India's economy "dead," and dismissed the world's fastest-growing major economy with unprecedented harshness. SEEDS OF DISCORD The trouble began long before the Houston lovefest between the two nations. In February 2018, Trump first publicly complained about India's high import tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, calling them "unfair". India was charging up to 100% tariffs on imported motorcycles while the US imposed "zero tax" on Indian bikes. By March 2018, Trump had imposed 25% tariffs on Indian steel and aluminum as part of his broader trade agenda. Then came the bigger blow: in March 2019, he announced the end of India's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits. But it was in October 2019, just weeks after their Houston embrace, that Trump first used the phrase that would define his view of India for years to come. He labelled India the "tariff king," a title that stuck. The man who had praised PM Modi as a great friend was now painting India as a trade abuser with some of the world's highest tariff THAT WASN'TDespite the growing trade tensions, Trump and PM Modi continued their public friendship. The breaking point came during Trump's second term. After PM Modi visited Washington in February 2025, both sides appeared optimistic about reaching a comprehensive trade deal. They set an ambitious target of doubling bilateral trade to $500 billion by rounds of intensive negotiations followed between March and July 2025, with Indian officials growing so confident they signaled to media that tariffs could be capped at just 15%.On July 30, 2025, instead of announcing the expected trade deal, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods. His social media post was blunt: "India's tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country"The very next day, Trump's rhetoric turned vicious. "I don't care what India does with Russia," he posted on social media. "They can take their dead economies down together for all I care". The word "dead" was particularly stinging, India has been the world's fastest-growing major economy, expanding at over 6% annually even as other economies embrace of Pakistan was also shocking. On the same day he announced tariffs on India, Trump announced a trade deal with Pakistan, praising their cooperation and suggesting Pakistan might even sell oil to India someday. For India, which has fought multiple wars with Pakistan, and the recent heinous attack in Pahalgam, this was diplomatic salt in fresh 50,000 CHEERS TO 50% TARIFFadvertisementTrump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, bringing the total to 50% on August 6, 2025. This puts India among the most heavily tariffed nations in US history, facing duties higher than even China during the peak of their trade contrast with Houston couldn't be starker. Where once 50,000 people cheered Trump and PM Modi together, now 50% tariffs threaten to devastate Indian exporters. From textiles to gems, from pharmaceuticals to auto parts, Indian businesses face an uncertain future in the American experts call it the worst crisis in US-India relations in two decades. What began with complaints about Harley-Davidson motorcycles has evolved into a full-scale economic confrontation that threatens the broader strategic partnership built over MODI's STERN RESPONSEIndia would put its interests first, even if that means paying a heavy price, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday in remarks seen as a direct response to US President Donald Trump, who slapped a 50 per cent tariff on India for its continued purchases of Russian at the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference, PM Modi made it clear that he would continue to stand by the country's farmers and bear the brunt of America's steepest tariffs. "For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority," the PM said. "India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers."Rahul Ahluwalia, Founder-Director of the Foundation for Economic Development, said, "We export around $90 billion of merchandise to the USA. This additional tariff rate represents a substantial threat to many labour-intensive industries. Our response should consider that lowering trade barriers is in our interests.""We should view this as an opportunity to carry out long-needed reforms in different sectors, for eg shifting farmer welfare to DBTs instead of subsidies in electricity and fertilisers which have devastated our ecosystem and forced farmers to stick to low-value crops. This will cause some short-term disruption, but is in our national interest in the medium and long term," he added. - EndsMust Watch


India Today
a few seconds ago
- India Today
Why US singled out India over Russia trade? Trump's 8-hour dodge fuels suspense
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Economic Times
a few seconds ago
- Economic Times
India risks 1% GDP hit as Trump slaps 50% tariffs over Russian oil
Synopsis Trump 50% tariffs on India: Analysts predict India's GDP growth could decline by up to 1% due to the US doubling tariffs on Indian goods in response to continued Russian oil purchases. This move threatens to reduce Indian exports to the US significantly, impacting labor-intensive sectors and potentially forcing India to seek alternative markets. Agencies India could lose as much as a full percentage point of GDP growth following US President Donald Trump's latest move to double tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, analysts said. The new levies, imposed as punishment for India's continued purchase of Russian oil, could severely dent exports and unsettle an already slowing tariffs announced on Thursday will take effect in 21 days. Analysts say the move could push Indian goods out of competition in the US market, which is India's largest export destination. Bloomberg Economics estimates the hike could reduce India's outbound shipments to the US by up to 60%, potentially shaving off about 1% from GDP. The Reserve Bank of India has forecast the economy to grow at 6.5% in fiscal 2026 — the same pace as last year, but well below the 8% average growth India saw in previous years.'The overall hit to GDP could be even higher at 1.1% over the medium term' once tariffs on sectors such as pharmaceuticals and electronics are announced, wrote Chetna Kumar and Adam Farrar of Bloomberg hardest hit are expected to be labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, footwear, gems and jewellery. Analysts warn that many businesses in these industries could see exports to the US come to a halt, forcing India to urgently seek alternative markets. New Delhi has reacted strongly to the announcement. Calling the US move 'unfair, unjustified,' the Indian government criticised Trump for targeting India while other nations also continue buying oil from Russia. Sonal Badhan, an Economics Specialist at Bank of Baroda, told ANI, 'We had initially priced in approx. 0.2 per cent impact (on GDP growth) of 25-26 per cent tariffs imposed by the US on imports from India. The additional 25 per cent hike will come into effect after 21 days. During this time or in the coming months, there is a likelihood that lower rates may be negotiated.'Also Read: Trump's additional 25% tariffs may dent India's FY26 growth by 0.4% She added that the final impact on GDP growth would depend on the trade agreement that emerges. 'The total impact of these tariffs on GDP growth may range between 0.2-0.4 per cent,' she said, adding that the garments, precious stones, electronics, pharma, auto parts, and MSME sectors are likely to be hit. 'There appears to be downside risk to our growth forecast of 6.4-6.6 per cent if lower rates are not negotiated,' she and trade experts are also alarmed. Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), said the high tariffs could make Indian goods significantly costlier and reduce exports to the US by as much as 40–50%.A report by Morgan Stanley warned that unless offset by decisive government policies and reforms, the move could shave off as much as 80 basis points from India's GDP growth over the next 12 months. According to the report, a full-scale tariff of 50% on all Indian exports would have a direct impact of 60 basis points on growth, while indirect effects could push the total loss to 1.2 percentage points. If only 67% of goods are subject to the full tariff, the combined direct and indirect impact would still be around 80 basis points. Also Read: India braces for a growth hit with US tariffs going up to 50% The foreign bank expects Indian policymakers to respond if tariffs stay high for a year. The Reserve Bank of India could cut interest rates by up to 75 basis points — including 50 bps more than currently planned — to support domestic demand. RBI had left rates unchanged on August 6. The government might also ease up on fiscal consolidation and raise public investment to offset export losses, Morgan Stanley Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi at Nomura Holdings described the 50% tariff as similar to 'a trade embargo,' warning that it would cause 'a sudden stop in affected export products.' They said that many small and medium enterprises may struggle to survive, given their low margins and limited value US currently accounts for nearly 20% of India's total exports. Citigroup's Samiran Chakraborty warned that with the tariffs, exports could become 'economically unviable' and said that using a simple estimate might understate the actual damage. Chakraborty also said the move could hit both current and capital account flows. With the rupee already near its record low, the RBI may have to step in to prevent a sharp fall, he said. Citigroup expects a 0.6-0.8 percentage point downside risk to GDP growth from the tariff officials, however, appear less worried. Dammu Ravi, Secretary for Economic Relations at the Ministry of External Affairs, said India will explore new export markets if the US becomes 'difficult to export.' He mentioned South Asia, Africa and Latin America as potential destinations. 'It's very natural for countries to look for alternatives when you are affected by a wall of tariffs in any part of the world,' he analysts say that if the high tariffs continue, policy support will be necessary from both the government and the Reserve Bank of India to keep growth on track.