That it has taken two natural disasters — Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton — for some Republicans to realize that “some government functions need to be above politics” is “enraging,” Chris Hayes said Wednesday. The MSNBC host referenced misinformation shared by Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene among others.
“So here are the facts,” Hayes said. “FEMA has enough funding in the short term to address immediate needs for both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and there is no funding connection between shelter for migrants and funding for disaster relief. There is no intermingling of funds between these two programs.”
You can watch the clip from Chris Hayes in the video below:
“That’s not me saying it,” he continued. “It’s the Republicans in charge of the House Appropriations Committee in a fact sheet they shared yesterday with Chad Pergram, the Congressional reporter for Fox, because they felt the urgent need to push back on a lie that is being spread by Fox News and by Donald Trump.”
That lie, he continued, was “started by their candidate for president, Donald Trump, and amplified, as you see, by his campaign surrogates.” The lie was then “passed along on the social media site owned by a billionaire funding one of their super PACS.”
“Republicans who suddenly see conflict between the welfare of their constituents and the toxic effect of their party’s propaganda, and also don’t want to fly back to Washington for an emergency session to fund FEMA when FEMA has money, [are] now struggling to explain their audiences that well, up is up and down is down, and water is wet, and two plus two equals four,” Hayes added.
Days after Helene made landfall, on Oct. 3, Rep. Greene tweeted, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”
Trump has pushed several lies about the federal response to Helene and Milton, including that federal assistance for victims of Helene has so far exceeded $210 million and FEMA is preparing similar assistance for people in Florida who will have to contend with the aftermath of Milton.
Both claims prompted President Biden to begin his briefing Wednesday, “Former President Trump has led this onslaught of lies. Assertions have been made that properties are being confiscated – that’s simply not true. They’re saying people impacted by these storms are receiving $750 in cash and no more — that is simply not true, either. They’re saying that money needed for these crises are being diverted to migrants — what the hell — heck are they talking about? Stop it.”
“The claims are getting even more bizarre,” Biden added. “Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather. We’re controlling weather! It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s so stupid. It’s got to stop.
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