Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn floated a conspiracy theory suggesting the tragic announcement of the missing Titan submersible was to distract from the tax fraud case of Hunter Biden.
The OceanGate's tourist sub carrying five passengers paying $250,000 each to visit the Titanic wreckage went missing last Sunday.
By Thursday, Coast Guard officials said the debris detected by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was confirmed to be the remains of the Titan submersible. The Titan broke apart and all passengers were likely killed instantly due to a "catastrophic implosion."
The following day, Senator Blackburn–a climate change denier and anti-reproductive freedom absolutist–posted:
“If the U.S. Navy suspected that the Titan Submersible imploded just hours after it began its voyage, why did the Coast Guard wait until Thursday—the same day the IRS whistleblowers testified before Congress—to make their announcement to the public?"
Her tweet was accompanied by context provided by Twitter users stating:
"While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission."
One of the provided links led to an article reporting top leaders were aware the Navy detected a loud sound two miles underwater hours after the sub went missing on Sunday which resulted in a much-publicized search and rescue effort.
The Navy couldn't confirm the source of the sound came from the missing vessel until debris was found Thursday.
Following Blackburn's tweet egregiously politicizing a tragedy, Twitter users gave a collective eye roll.
Blackburn wasn't the first Republican to cobble together a conspiracy theory about the missing ill-fated vessel.
While a massive search for the sub was still underway, former Republican President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., alleged there was something nefarious going on without providing further insight or details to support his vague claim.
@maggieastor/Bluesky
@maggieastor/Bluesky
@maggieastor/Bluesky
@maggieastor/Bluesky
@banner19/Bluesky
@awizarddidit114/Bluesky
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
