CNN host Dana Bash made efforts to clarify statements made by Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump on Sunday, following her remarks regarding the inadequate federal assistance provided to victims of Hurricane Helene.
In the wake of over 200 reported fatalities from Hurricane Helene, the Biden administration’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has encountered considerable criticism after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas indicated that the agency does not possess enough funds to sustain operations throughout the hurricane season. During the “State of the Union” program, Lara Trump voiced her concerns for those impacted by the disaster while Bash pressed her on former President Donald Trump’s assertion that FEMA was “only offering $750” to Americans and that the Biden administration was reallocating aid to undocumented immigrants.
“I’m incredibly concerned, in North Carolina, I hear every day from people on the ground there, and they are desperate for help. It is a dire situation there. I actually think we don’t even know the extent yet of truly how bad it is there. And look, Kamala Harris did come out and say it‘s $750 per family right now, the idea that we’ve spent $650 million in fiscal year 24 on the migrant crisis that Kamala Harris was responsible for stopping — by all accounts, she created — by having an open-door policy at our southern border,” Lara Trump said.
“But Laura, let me just stop you right there,” Bash jumped in. “Let me just stop you right there because I just want to not let this get out there. You are right that FEMA is giving $750, but that is a first step. It’s for immediate needs, it’s called the serious needs assist.”
Lara Trump expressed her disapproval of Mayorkas’s recent assertion that FEMA is experiencing a shortage of funds for hurricane relief, raising concerns about the current administration’s dependence on assistance from “local citizens.”
“Well Alejandro Mayorkas came out, Dana, and said they are out of money in terms of their hurricane relief. We have another hurricane heading towards Florida right now,” Lara Trump pushed back. “Why is this government inept right now? Why don’t they have anything in order? Why is it that right now the citizens in western North Carolina are screaming for help, and it’s having to come from local citizens.”
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