Vice President Kamala Harris said it’s “unconscionable” for leaders in this country to be throwing around misinformation about Hurricane Milton.
The Democratic presidential hopeful called into CNN on Wednesday to discuss the developing storm soon making landfall in Florida. Dana Bash asked her about the response she’s been hearing from local authorities — including GOP leadership and former president Donald Trump.
“I have spoken with local officials who have been struck, for example by Hurricane Helene, and they are doing an extraordinary job in trying to combat the misinformation,” Harris said. “I’m talking about sheriffs, I’m talking about mayors, I’m talking about local officials — I don’t even know their party affiliation by the way — but leaders on the ground who know that it is not in the best interest of the people living in those areas to not know their rights, to not know what they’re entitled to and to be afraid of seeking help.”
She continued, “It is dangerous, it is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who would consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people; to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled.”
At a recent Michigan stop, Trump shared various inaccurate statements with his supporters, such as that Harris was using FEMA money to house migrants, that no helicopters had been sent to aid people in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene and that FEMA was only promising $750 to storm victims.
“The gamesmanship has to stop,” Harris told Bash (who was the one to specifically name-drop Trump) on Wednesday. “At some point, the politics has to end, especially in a moment of crisis.”
The GOP nominee hasn’t been the only one called out for spouting false information around the recent storms. Late last week, Elon Musk falsely stated the FAA was shutting down airspace over impacted states in the aftermath of Helene. His comment was quickly called out and brought up on MSNBC.
“His irresponsibility is, frankly, astounding in light of the fact that he … is a contractor to the Department of Defense,” guest analyst Claire McCaskill told Nicolle Wallace on Monday.
“Keep in mind, Elon Musk’s company is now responsible for some of the satellites that are going in some sensitive equipment, and he is doing this nonsense,” the former Senator from Missouri continued.
Hurricane Milton was downgraded to Category 3 on Wednesday and is expected to make landfall later Wednesday night.
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