Maud Newton, who describes herself as “a writer, critic, editor, and occasional speaker,” posted — then later deleted — a tweet in which she claimed that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ use of the word “biblical” to describe hurricane storm surge was “an evangelical dog whistle.”
“‘DeSantis said there had been ‘biblical’ storm surge on Sanibel Island…'” Newton wrote, quoting from a New York Times article. “This language is an evangelical dog whistle—i.e., it’s not climate change, it’s God,” Newton remarked in the now-deleted post.
Newton, the author of the book “Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation” indicated that she stands behind her tweet, but chose to delete it anyway.
“Sometimes I stand by a tweet but delete it because I have spent enough of my life amid the rantings and abuse of Rapture-obsessed evangelicals. Good time for a Twitter break. See y’all,” she tweeted.
The Sunshine State is now in recovery mode after getting hammered by Hurricane Ian.
Earlier this week, as the menacing storm approached Florida, Rachel Vindman, the wife of Alexander S. Vindman, posted a tweet jokingly suggesting that people should start referring to the hurricane using “they/them pronouns” in order to irritate Gov. DeSantis.
“We should use they/them pronouns for hurricane Ian to annoy DeSantis,” Vindman tweeted on Tuesday. But in a tweet on Wednesday she announced, “I deleted my tweet from yesterday because it was offensive to the trans community. I want to be an ally, but I make mistakes. A lot of them. Thank you to those who left rebuking comments.”
“I will harass Gov DeSantis again & again. He deserves it. He’s eroded trust in all levels of government & removed experienced & competent people. He’s spent his entire time in office auditioning for the White House & soon that will become tragically apparent to all,” Vindman tweeted on Wednesday.