Biden rejects Marjorie Taylor Greene's “beyond ridiculous” conspiracy theory about controlling the weather

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden issued a stark warning Wednesday about the dangerous hurricane barreling toward Florida, he dismissed misinformation about the storm, including a particular conspiracy theory from Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“The claims are becoming more and more bizarre. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying that the federal government literally controls the weather – we control the weather. This is beyond ridiculous. It has to stop,” Biden said during a virtual White House briefing as he received updates on Hurricane Milton. The storm is expected to reach Florida later on Wednesday and could have catastrophic consequences for the region.

Greene said in an Oct. 3 post on X: “Yes, they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for someone to lie and say it’s not possible.”

One of Greene's GOP colleagues, Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida, responded on Wednesday morning

Around the same time as Biden's briefing on Wednesday, Greene reiterated her claim and suggested that the federal government was aware of it.

“Well, some of them are listed on NOAA, as are most of the ways the weather can be modified, because they are required by the Weather Modification Act of 1972 to report it to the Secretary of Commerce,” she wrote on X. “ The NOAA government website has a library catalog with 1,026 weather change entries, but that’s not all.”

She continued: “If your home, business or property is damaged by the weather changes or a loved one is killed, should you not be entitled to compensation? Finally, have you been asked if you agree to the change in our weather?”

On Tuesday, she cited an article from The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website known for spreading conspiracy theories, that said: “Marjorie Taylor Greene was right. Yes, scientists control the weather.”