Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday known as former President Donald Trump “extremely irresponsible” for spreading falsehoods in regards to the federal response to the destruction of Hurricane Helene, providing particularly harsh phrases as a brand new storm hits Florida simply weeks earlier than Election Day. .
“The previous president is spreading plenty of misinformation and disinformation about what is accessible, significantly to Helene survivors,” Harris advised reporters earlier than boarding Air Power Two to fly to New York. “It is terribly irresponsible. It is about him. It isn’t about you.”
Helene has killed greater than 220 individuals in six states, and Class 5 Hurricane Milton is headed towards Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Trump has made a collection of false claims within the wake of Helene, together with incorrectly saying that the federal authorities is deliberately withholding help from Republican victims of the catastrophe. He additionally falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Administration Company had run out of cash as a result of it had all gone to applications for immigrants within the nation illegally.
Harris stated, “The truth is that FEMA has so many assets accessible to individuals who desperately want them now, and assets which can be supposed to assist individuals get well, rebuild and have locations to go.”
“Individuals have a proper to those assets and it’s vitally essential that they request the assistance that exists to help them,” added the vp. “All of these assets have been created exactly for all these moments, in an emergency scenario, realizing that individuals have the correct to obtain the aid they so desperately want.”
Trump additionally stated throughout a go to to Valdosta, Georgia, final week that President Joe Biden was “sleeping” and never responding to calls from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. In actual fact, Biden had spoken to Kemp and advised him of Trump: “He is mendacity, and the governor advised him he was mendacity.”
Harris additionally criticized one other high-profile Republican, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, suggesting he was “taking part in political video games” and fascinating in “political video games” after Helene.
Harris’ workplace says the vp reached out to DeSantis after the storm. DeSantis stated Monday afternoon that he “did not know she known as” and “they did not name me.”
“It was nothing that anybody in my workplace did by saying it was political,” DeSantis stated.
However Harris, when requested about DeSantis, stated that “individuals desperately want help proper now and taking part in political video games proper now in these disaster conditions… is totally irresponsible.”
“It is egocentric and it is about political gamesmanship as a substitute of doing the job you swore to do, which is placing individuals first,” Harris stated with out naming DeSantis.
DeSantis later spoke with Biden to debate preparations for Milton. The president, in line with the White Home, requested DeSantis “to name him instantly if there’s something that may be performed to additional help response and restoration efforts.”
Florida’s governor later responded to Harris, telling Fox Information host Sean Hannity that the vp was “delusional” for criticizing him when he was specializing in the individuals of his state.
“She has no function on this,” stated DeSantis, who famous that he had been involved with Biden and federal officers. “In actual fact, she has been vp for 3 and a half years. I’ve handled a number of storms beneath this administration and he or she has by no means contributed something to any of those efforts.”
DeSantis stated Harris was “making an attempt to make a mistake on this,” including that he had labored properly with Biden and Trump throughout previous hurricanes and that the vp is “the primary one who’s making an attempt to politicize the storm, and he or she is doing so.” solely due to him.” Marketing campaign.”
“I haven’t got time for political video games,” DeSantis stated.
