Republicans put forth unfounded and sometimes racist theories on bridge collapse

After Tuesday’s deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, some Republican officials, candidates and right-wing pundits attempted to connect the tragedy to some of their most frequent political targets: diversity initiatives, illegal immigration, coronavirus lockdowns and the Biden administration. And early reaction to the incident also provided fresh ground for unfounded theories that the collapse was not an accident at all.
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The collapse along a key East Coast corridor early Tuesday sent at least eight people into the Patapsco River. The remains of two people have been recovered, and four others are presumed dead. They were immigrant construction workers making bridge repairs at the time of the collapse.

Since the incident, several sitting Republican officials have sought to tie the Biden administration to the collapse of the nearly 50-year-old bridge.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Newsmax on Tuesday that the government is focusing on spending federal funds on “waste,” “when it could be going to things that are the government’s purpose, just like this.”

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