Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after a support column was struck by a vessel.Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/ZUMA
Early Tuesday morning, a massive cargo ship struck a structural pillar of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing the 1.6-mile-long bridge into the Patapsco River. The stunning collapse shut down the Port of Baltimore, one of the country’s busiest, and launched a search for at least six construction workers believed to be missing.
Amid the frantic rescue mission, Fox News, similarly aligned conservative news outlets, and fringe characters wasted no time tying the collapse to some of their favorite right-wing talking points. Here are a few.
Border “crisis”
Fox’s Maria Bartiromo is attempting to link the Francis Scott Key bridge’s collapse to "the wide open border". @atrupar
pic.twitter.com/lPXpFDJWoW— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) March 26, 2024
In an interview with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fl.), Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo appeared to suggest a “wide open” immigration policy at the border could be a factor here. Her rationale? The cargo ship had been flying under a Singaporean flag.
Drug-addled employees
Matt Schlapp on Newsmax admits he's "no expert" but tries to blame the Baltimore bridge collapse on "drug-addled" employees and covid lockdowns pic.twitter.com/TAxjgRU5Dt
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2024
Over on Newsmax, Conservative Political Action Conference chairman Mike Schlapp invoked everything from “drug-addled employees” to Covid lockdowns while discussing the collapse. “We have to wake up as a country and realize that we have too many people who aren’t ready to do these jobs,” Schlapp, who conceded that he was not an expert on the situation, said.
Cyberattack
Looks deliberate to me. A cyber-attack is probable. WW3 has already started.. https://t.co/wLTGjT6ErN
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) March 26, 2024
In a crossover that no one asked for, Alex Jones repeated a post from accused human trafficker Andrew Tate to speculate, without evidence, that foreign agents deliberately launched a cyberattack targeting US infrastructure.
“Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident,” President Biden said in a brief this afternoon. “At this time, we have no other indication—no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here.”
DEI
DEI did this pic.twitter.com/U8HIbFNAUE
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) March 26, 2024
This succinct message, from a man running for Congress in Florida, is not parody. It is a conservative obsession.
