DC Council Member Who Claimed Jews Control Weather Calls Into Legislative Meeting While Driving

A Washington, D.C., city council member notorious for making anti-Semitic comments attended part of a virtual council meeting on Tuesday while driving in his car.

Democratic councilmember Trayon White apparently operated a moving car during a legislative meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia, which he attended virtually via Zoom. During the meeting, White glanced between a phone and the road while moving his arms as though he was maneuvering a steering wheel, a video recording of the meeting shows. White can be seen in his car for about eight minutes during the meeting before apparently arriving at his destination.

White's office did not respond to a request for comment. Patrick DeGrasse, CEO of Unite, a group that works to combat distracted driving, criticized White's decision to drive during a Zoom meeting as a "dangerous" and potentially deadly move. DeGrasse manages Unite's Arrive Alive Tour, which educates young people on the dangers of distracted driving.

"This type of behavior behind the wheel is exactly what the Arrive Alive Tour is trying to prevent," DeGrasse told the Washington Free Beacon. "We can all do a better job of not engaging in dangerous behaviors such as Zoom meetings, texting, FaceTiming, etc., while behind the wheel."

DeGrasse added that he hopes White "will take the Arrive Alive Tour pledge to drive SAFE—Sober And Free of Electronics."

White is no stranger to controversy. The Democrat came under fire in 2018 for anti-Semitic comments he made after it snowed in D.C., alleging the weather was controlled by Jewish financiers.

"Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man," he said in a video uploaded to his Facebook page. "Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation. And D.C. keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful."

White filmed the video while driving on the freeway, the Washington Post reported at the time.

The Rothschilds are a wealthy Jewish family and the subject of conspiracy theories that claim its members and other rich Jewish people influence world events for their gain, according to the Post. White later apologized for the comments.

White is not the first Democratic lawmaker to face criticism for distracted driving. Safe driving advocates last year denounced Rep. Susan Wild (D., Pa.) after the Free Beacon reported that she called in on Zoom to virtually attend an event for the Jewish Democratic Council of America while driving.

"This is a congresswoman. She is running for office. She should be setting an example, and she's setting an example of a deadly behavior," StopDistractions.org president and CEO Jennifer Smith said. "And for all the families that have lost loved ones … due to distracted driving crashes, I think she needs to realize the danger in what she did and make sure that she doesn't do it again."

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