Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Weather Conspiracy and The GOP’s Descent Into Delusion

As Texans drown, Greene pushes “weather manipulation” bills—proof that fringe theories now drive Republican politics.

With the death toll now exceeding 100, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene offered a bizarre and disturbing response to the catastrophic flash flooding that struck Texas on the Fourth of July. As search crews recovered bodies from the wreckage, Greene took to social media to push a long-debunked conspiracy theory about weather manipulation.

“I am introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purposes of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight,” she posted. She claimed the law would “end the deadly and dangerous practice of weather modification and geoengineering.”

Greene’s response to this human tragedy was not just tone-deaf—it was utterly divorced from reality. And the fact that it came from a sitting member of Congress makes it all the more grotesque. Her post is part of a disturbing trend within the Republican Party, where conspiracy theories no longer live on the fringe—they’ve become policy proposals.

If you're not steeped in internet rabbit holes, you might miss the signals in Greene’s statement. But to those fluent in paranoia, phrases like “weather manipulation” and “geoengineering” are dog whistles. They refer to fringe beliefs that scientists, shadowy elites, or the government are secretly tampering with the weather—causing natural disasters and manipulating climate patterns for nefarious purposes.

Conspiracy theories thrive in times of uncertainty and fear. They offer simple, emotionally satisfying answers to complex problems. Some influencers promote them for clicks. Politicians promote them for money and power.

In this case, Greene tapped into old fears about contrails—the vapor trails left by high-altitude jets. Conspiracy theorists claim these trails are really “chemtrails,” containing chemicals sprayed into the atmosphere for secret experiments or population control. The villains? Take your pick: the federal government, global elites, Big Agriculture, or some vague and sinister “them.”

This isn’t Greene’s first brush with conspiratorial nonsense. She has previously suggested that “space lasers” started California wildfires and promoted antisemitic claims about “Zionist supremacists” encouraging Muslim immigration.

And she’s far from alone. Republican figures increasingly dabble in the absurd while pretending to just “ask questions.” But in doing so, they signal tacit approval of the worst ideas circulating online. Donald Trump himself did this repeatedly—most notably when he winked at the QAnon movement, which promotes delusional theories about satanic pedophile rings and deep-state plots. In 2022, he even posted a photo of himself wearing a QAnon lapel pin.

More recently, Trump has taken policy advice from far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who has claimed that Kamala Harris isn’t truly Black and that George Soros’s son called for Trump’s assassination. She also flirted with 9/11 trutherism, implying that the attacks may have been orchestrated or allowed by the U.S. government. In 2024, she joined Trump at a 9/11 memorial event.

These ideas don’t stay on fringe forums—they migrate into political discourse. Claims about “crisis actors” after mass shootings and “body doubles” for President Biden may sound laughable, but they’re now widely believed in certain right-wing circles. And when conspiracy thinking finds an ally in power, the results are dangerous.

Take the case of Jeffrey Epstein. After his 2019 suicide in federal custody, conspiracy theorists claimed he was murdered to protect high-profile pedophiles. When Attorney General Pam Bondi—appointed by Trump in a second term hypothetical here—vowed to “investigate,” many Trump supporters were convinced she would expose a vast cover-up. But Bondi recently admitted her investigation found Epstein died by suicide and that the existence of a client list, is murkey at best. That didn’t stop the outrage from Trump’s base, which had already constructed an elaborate fantasy around the case.

Of course, no conspiracy theory has done more damage than the Big Lie about the 2020 election. Despite dozens of investigations, recounts, and court rulings affirming Joe Biden’s victory, Trump and his allies continue to insist the election was stolen. That lie fueled the January 6 insurrection, and today, many GOP leaders still refuse to say the election was legitimate. Whether they believe it or not is beside the point—they know it keeps them in Trump’s good graces and aligned with the MAGA base. A 2024 poll found that only 31% of Republicans accept Biden as the rightful winner.

Right-wing media outlets fuel the fire. Fox News has pushed election lies and COVID conspiracies. Joe Rogan has hosted antisemitic conspiracy theorists and speculated that federal agents may have instigated violence on January 6. Before Rogan, it was Alex Jones—the Infowars founder whose lies about Sandy Hook earned him a billion-dollar defamation judgment—who captivated millions with his blend of paranoia and performative rage.

With such an enormous echo chamber in place, conspiracy theories are now political currency. For politicians like Greene, they serve as ready-made talking points to inflame the base, vilify enemies, and raise cash. One week it’s Epstein. The next, it’s chemtrails. Or the “deep state.” Or a stolen election.

And now? “Fake flooding.” After Greene’s weather manipulation post, GOP congressional candidate Kandiss Taylor—already known for claiming the Earth is flat—escalated things further. “Fake weather causes real tragedy. That’s murder,” she wrote. “Pray. Prepare. Question the narrative.”

There was a time—not so long ago—when mainstream Republicans would have rolled their eyes at this nonsense. But those Republicans are being replaced by primary challengers who embrace it. This is how a once-proud party radicalizes itself into oblivion.

The lesson is simple: Ignoring the madness doesn’t make it go away. We have to fight it—clearly, publicly, and unapologetically. Because left unchecked, this kind of thinking isn’t just stupid or embarrassing—it’s dangerous.