Harris calls Trump ’incredibly irresponsible’ for spreading misinformation about Helene response

Vice President Harris criticizes Trump and DeSantis for spreading misinformation about Hurricane Helene relief efforts, urging people to apply for aid.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday (October 7) called former President Donald Trump “incredibly irresponsible” for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene's destruction, offering especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day.

"There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, particularly to the survivors of Helene,” Ms. Harris told reporters before boarding Air Force Two to fly to New York. “It’s extraordinarily irresponsible. It’s about him. It’s not about you.”

Helene has killed more than 220 people in six States, and Category 5 Hurricane Milton is on a path toward Florida's Gulf Coast.

Trump has made a series of false claims in the wake of Helene, including saying incorrectly that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. He also falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for immigrants in the country illegally.

Ms. Harris said, “the reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them now, and resources that are about helping people get back on their feet and rebuild and have places to go.”

“People are entitled to these resources, and it is critically important that people apply for the help that is there to support,” the vice president added. “All those resources were created for just these types of moments, in an emergency situation, knowing that folks are entitled to have the relief that they so rightly need.”

Trump also said during a visit Valdosta, Georgia, last week that President Joe Biden was “sleeping” and not responding to calls from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Mr. Biden had, in fact, spoken with Mr. Kemp and said of Trump, “He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying.”