A former George W. Bush administration official is drawing fire for a comment he made in the middle of Sunday's Super Bowl blackout.
Ex-FEMA Director Michael Brown delivered a tweet during the game's power problems, joking about fighting in the New Orleans Superdome.
Shortly after Brown's 7:31 p.m. ET tweet, a fresh conversation started on Facebook. Federal News Radio host Francis Rose posted a status, mocking Bush's famous words that his FEMA director -- "Brownie" -- was "doing a heck of a job" handling the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.
Four comments later, a post came in from a "Michael D Brown" that read, "It's not my fault." Federal News Radio posted a piece Monday afternoon, claiming that person's profile information matches the actual Michael Brown. He currently serves as a host for Newsradio 850KOA in Denver.
Brown resigned on Sept. 12, 2005, less than a month after Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. As Gawker pointed out, Brown's quip is especially controversial because FEMA failed to deliver aid to hundreds of Hurricane Katrina victims who were stranded and suffering inside the Superdome. Ten days after Bush's "Brownie" praise, the then-FEMA director resigned, CNN reported.
More than seven years removed from his involvement in that natural disaster, Brown joined a similar conversation in October 2012. He chimed in on President Barack Obama's Hurricane Sandy response, criticizing the commander-in-chief for acting too quickly.
"Here's my concern," Brown told Westword. "People in the northeast are already beginning to blow it off.... [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg has shut down the subway...[launched] evacuations.... I don't object...they should be doing all of that. But in the meantime, various news commentators...[and others] in New York are shrugging their shoulders, saying, 'What's this all about?' It's premature [when] the brunt of the storm won't happen until later this afternoon."
Before You Go
