CNN
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Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that she believes former President Donald Trump lacks empathy for others as he continues to spread misinformation about the federal government’s response after Hurricane Helen.
“It’s profound and the height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness. … Lives are literally at stake right now,” Harris said in an interview on ABC’s “The View.” “So we’re talking about real people and their lives, and they’re losing everything, everything.”
He added: “The idea that someone is playing politics for themselves is consistent with Donald Trump.”
“He puts himself before the needs of others. He has a sense of concern for the suffering of others, and that the role of a leader is not to beat people down, but to uplift them, especially in times of crisis.” “I’m worried that we really lack the empathy on a very basic level to understand that this is the case,” she added. .
After Hurricane Helen and as Hurricane Milton hurtles towards Florida, President Trump repeatedly falsely claims, without evidence, that the White House is diverting disaster relief to unrelated immigration programs. I’ve been doing this. FEMA administers grants for housing and immigrant assistance, but that is a separate account and unrelated to disaster relief funds.
President Trump also reiterated the Biden administration’s response to Helen, including falsely claiming that the president did not return calls and that President Joe Biden and Harris’ response to the crisis was anti-Republican bias. I’ve been criticizing it.
Harris described visiting both Georgia and North Carolina to assess the impact of the hurricanes, and emphasized that people are still in “pain” and “shock.” At least 235 people have died because of Helen, and Milton is expected to hit Florida. Days after rapidly intensifying into a major hurricane and briefly reaching Category 5, the storm is expected to remain a strong Category 4 storm before making landfall Wednesday night.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas lamented the current state of disinformation surrounding relief efforts.
“I would like to say this, apart from the disinformation being spread by specific individuals: Disinformation harms survivors of disasters because it causes them to lose faith in the government. ‘Because they don’t ask for the help that they need and they have a right to it and we can do it,’ Mayorkas said on CNN on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Mr. called “people”.
Biden did not directly address Trump, who is among those actively spreading misinformation about the federal government’s response to the storm, but instead referred broadly to “other people on the internet.” The Biden administration has become increasingly alarmed by the disinformation surrounding the relief effort, with several officials speaking of politicization and mistrust.
The president downplayed the reputational impact on his administration while slamming the serious impact it is having on affected Americans.
“Those who do that are doing it to try to damage the regime. We can take care of ourselves. But it misleads people and puts people in a situation where they panic. They’re really, really, really worried. They think we don’t care about them,” Biden told reporters in the Roosevelt Room. .
He continued: “It’s un-American. It really is. People are scared to death. People are afraid that everything they’ve worked for, everything they own, every life they hold dear, is at risk.” I know it has been done.”
Biden said he has been in contact with governors affected by the two storms and that they are “pleased with everything we got.”
Asked about the risks of politicians sharing misinformation, Biden said: “If past is prologue, this is reality.”
Breakdown between Biden and Harris over DeSantis
Biden and Harris, who spoke from the White House and the set of “The View” at about the same time Tuesday, painted a very different portrait of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the state braces for the effects of Hurricane Milton. .
Biden, speaking in the Roosevelt Room after a hurricane briefing from officials, said DeSantis has been “cooperative” and “supportive” of the federal response, and said he is ready to help if anything is needed. He added that he provided DeSantis with his personal phone number.
Meanwhile, Harris suggested in an interview that DeSantis was exploiting the storm for political purposes.
“First of all, I’ve called and talked to Democratic and Republican governors during this crisis and during the recent crisis. The calls have been ringing, I’ve answered the calls, I’ve answered the calls. We came out and we had a conversation. So obviously this is not an issue about partisanship or politics for any particular leader, but it’s probably an issue for other leaders,” he said when asked directly about DeSantis. When she spoke.
The difference in approach to DeSantis was notable, given that Harris is Biden’s vice president and the two sides have taken pains to avoid major differences as she runs for president. .
But in the interview, Harris maintained her criticism of DeSantis, which began in remarks to reporters the day before, saying DeSantis was playing “political games” against the storm. , called it “irresponsible.”
“When it comes to these types of disasters, there has to be an agreement that at some point we all need to come together and combine resources, especially federal, state and local resources,” she said on “The View.” . “I think it’s unfortunate that this hasn’t happened, but it’s happening at the local level and among electors in other states.”
Her suggestion that federal-state cooperation is “not happening” in Florida contradicts Biden’s near-simultaneous explanation of the situation from the White House.
“The governor of Florida has been supportive and says he has everything he needs. I talked to him yesterday. And I said — I said, ‘No, you’re great. I’m working, everything’s going great, and we’re grateful for that,’ Biden said. ‘And I literally gave him a personal phone number to call. I don’t know, it’s been a tough start in some places, but all the governors from Florida to North Carolina are fully supportive and supportive and recognize the efforts of this team.”
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
