Louisiana Sen. David Vitter called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid an “idiot” on Monday for saying the damage from Hurricane Katrina was “nothing in comparison” to Hurricane Sandy.
“Sadly, Harry Reid has again revealed himself to be an idiot, this time gravely insulting Gulf Coast residents,” Vitter wrote on Twitter.
The Republican senator linked to a NOLA.com story reporting on Reid’s remarks from the senate floor on Friday.
“The people of New Orleans in that area, they were hurt,” Reid said. “But nothing in comparison to what happened to the people in New York and New Jersey.”
The NOLA.com story noted that Katrina, a category five storm that devastated the Gulf Coast, killed 1,833 people and caused more than $145 billion in damage.
Hurricane Sandy, a category 1 storm that badly damaged portions of New York and New Jersey, killed 120 people and caused $80 billion in damage.
Sadly, Harry Reid has again revealed himself to be an idiot, this time gravely insulting Gulf Coast residents. nola.com/politics/index…
— David Vitter (@DavidVitter) January 7, 2013
UPDATE: Reid released a statement on Monday saying he “misspoke.” He also threw a few punches at Republicans.
“In my recent comments criticizing House Republicans for threatening to betray Congress’ tradition of providing aid to disaster victims in a timely fashion regardless of region, I simply misspoke,” he said. “I am proud to have been an advocate for disaster victims in the face of Republican foot-dragging, from Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy, from fires in the west to tornadoes in the Midwest.”