East Coast Earthquake Felt On Martha’s Vineyard As Conservative Media Connects It To Obama

According to Politico White House press pooler Carrie Budoff Brown, the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Virgina minutes ago was felt on the Martha’s Vineyard golf course where President Obama was playing when it hit. Meanwhile, Media Matters‘ Oliver Willis observes that the conservative media are already pointlessly pointing out that the President was on vacation when the quake hit, tweeting “Conservatives Can’t Decide If Obama Was Too Busy Golfing Or Biking To Stop The #Earthquake.”

From Carrie Budoff Brown’s pool report:

The president is golfing today with Marvin Nicholson, Eric Whitaker, and Vernon Jordan, the Washington power broker, lawyer, business exec, friend of Bill Clinton and seasonal island resident.

An aside: The earthquake centered in Virginia was felt on Martha’s Vineyard minutes ago by your pooler and AP’s Mark Smith. Inquiring about whether the president felt it as well.

Conservative blogger Jim Hoft was quick to weirdly conflate the President’s vacation with the quake, posting a quickie item that noted the quake with the headline “Earthquake Rattles Washington DC – Obama Goes Biking.”

The body of the post reads, simply, “A 5.8 quake hit Washington DC this afternoon. The Obama family was biking this afternoon.”

It’s hard to know what the subtext is supposed to be. Should the President have been back at the Blue Heron Farm perusing a memo entitled “6.0 Quake Determined To Strike Within US?”

Meanwhile, less pointedly, The Drudge Report posted several earthquake-related headlines, finishing with “Obama Was On Golf Course.”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!