Harris Says Trump 'Lacks Empathy on a Very Basic Level' After False Claims About Hurricane Response

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell went on ABC News on Monday to debunk claims made by Republican candidate Donald Trump, who suggested that the White House is diverting disaster relief aid to unrelated migrant programs. "It's frankly ridiculous and just plain false" said Cronwell, adding that "it's really a shame that we're putting politics ahead of helping people."

Misinformation has been running rampant this hurricane season. Perhaps the most illustrative case is congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's, who baselessly said that Democrats were generating hurricanes for political gain.

In this context, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate went on TV show The View as part of her media blitz and denounced the false claims, especially considering that hurricane Milton is expected to wreak havoc across Tampa Bay as it hits the coast on Wednesday night.

Harris didn't mince words in putting the majority of the blame squarely on Trump's shoulders, starting off by expressing that his attitude "is the height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness", especially since "lives are literally at stake right now."

She went on to say that the former president's attitude in this particular case is a reflection of a wider lack of empathy:

"He puts himself before the needs of others. I fear that he really lacks empathy on a very basic level to care about the suffering of other people and then understand the role of a leader is not to beat people down, it's to lift people up especially in a time of crisis."

While FEMA does manage housing grants for migrants, a spokesperson for the organization clarified to Fox News on Sunday that disaster relief funds and immigration-related funding are separate and come from different sources. The disaster money is provided by Congress and is exclusively used for relief operations.

Trump has also accused President Biden of ignoring calls for assistance and displaying an anti-Republican bias in the response to the hurricane, claims that remain unfounded.

Harris also went on to detail her visits to Georgia and North Carolina to witness the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, where at least 235 people have died. With Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 storm, expected to hit Florida soon, concerns are growing about further damage.