Online critics skewered Gov. Greg Abbott for tweeting out a photo of his appearance at an event where he handed out money raised at a benefit concert for Texas Flood victims.
The concert in question was the Strait to the Heart benefit organized by country singer George Strait and Estancia Estates Founder Tom Cusick. Missing from Abbott’s tweet is any indication that neither he nor the State of Texas had direct involvement in setting up the show or running the Vaqueros del Mar Texas Flood Relief Fund, which it benefitted.
“There is nothing more powerful than Texans helping Texans,” Abbott said on social media platform X. “Joined the Vaqueros del Mar Texas Flood Relief Fund again to present checks to more Kerrville residents impacted by the July 4th floods. Our goal is to rebuild homes as quickly as possible.”
An emailed statement from Abbott’s office was clearer about just how involved the governor was in Strait to the Heart, which raised $6 million to aid flood victims. The email noted that Abbott “attended” the concert and linked to online photos of him wearing a black cowboy hat while shaking hands with Strait, smiling in photo ops and speaking onstage.
Critics savaging Abbott over his tweet were quick to point another missing detail in his self-congratulatory tweet: as Hill Country communities struggled to recover, the governor and his GOP cronies put President Donald Trump’s demand that state lawmakers redraw congressional maps ahead of passing flood-relief legislation.
“Well Comrade then maybe Republicans should have put flood relief first instead of racist gerrymandering,” user @dudebetter57923 fired back at the governor. “Also, you should have exercised your powers immediately instead of waiting on congress. But hey, rambling about football is good too I guess.”
“Wow. Using someone’s pain as a photo op to enrich your lies,” user @Dorr311 chimed in.
Others blasted Abbott for placing fealty to Trump ahead of serving Texans caught up in one of the worst natural disasters in recent state history. The flooding along the Guadalupe River more than seven weeks ago killed 138 people and resulted in $1.1 billion in damages.
To Abbott’s claim that “our goal is to rebuild homes as quickly as possible,” user
@3rt1g019797 clapped back at Abbott: “No it’s not. You gerrymandered the maps first at Trump’s command. That’s what’s important to you.”
One commenter called out the governor for adding a proposal easing consumer access to horse de-wormer ivermectin — a medically debunked COVID cure-all bandied about in the right-wing blogosphere — to his list of priorities for the latest special session of the Texas Legislature while overlooking other pressing issues facing the state. “You are a disgrace. You should have put flood relief first instead of racist gerrymandering” @MichelleRoy5506 said. You’ve done more to promote a quack-recommended horse de-wormer for human use than to prevent mass shootings, cut home insurance rates, or stop the abuse of foster kids under state care.”
“Create the illusion of helping Texans while muting their voices through gerrymandering. There, fixed the headline,” @pernellc quipped.
Other commenters, including @aberdeen40b, lit up Abbott over the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature’s failure to make funds available to communities looking to avoid future flood disasters.
“But you totally ignored their pleas for advanced warning systems. All this […] is a it could have been worse payoff and you know it,” @aberdeen40b said.
Another commenter posted a meme suggesting Abbott’s true allegiance is to the would-be strongman in the White House, not his constituents.
We’ll let that one speak for itself.
Better luck next photo op, gov.
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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 2, 2025.
