WASHINGTON –
President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday that Hurricane Milton carried unbelievable destructiveness and urged individuals to take secure shelter whereas condemning misinformation in regards to the storm as un-American.
“It’s dangerous to those who need assistance,” Biden stated of misinformation on the storm and the federal government’s response.
Republican former President Donald Trump, who’s working towards Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris within the Nov. 5 election, has sought to painting the Biden-Harris administration’s response to latest storms as ineffective, together with claiming with out proof that assist and Federal Emergency Administration Company funding had been diverted to migrants.
“It’s harmful – it’s unconscionable, frankly, that anybody who would take into account themselves a frontrunner would mislead determined individuals to the purpose that these determined individuals wouldn’t obtain the help to which they’re entitled, and that’s why I name it harmful,” Harris stated in an interview with CNN, in keeping with the community.
Requested why Trump was spreading misinformation, Biden stated he didn’t know.
“I merely don’t know. You possibly can speculate, however I simply discover it – I’ve used the phrase greater than I’ve ever used it in my profession – it’s un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not who the hell we’re,” he stated on the White Home.
Not less than three congressional Republicans, together with Consultant Chuck Edwards, whose North Carolina district was hit laborious by flooding attributable to Hurricane Helene, condemned conspiracy theories repeated by fellow members of their celebration in regards to the storms.
FEMA has sought to fight misinformation with a web page on its web site titled “Hurricane Rumor Response.” The positioning dispels rumors, together with declaring it false that the company was blockading individuals in Florida.
“FEMA doesn’t management visitors circulation or conduct visitors stops, that are dealt with by native authorities. It is a dangerous rumor that may put lives at risk,” it stated.
Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the area with rain and wind forward of its anticipated landfall.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason; Modifying by Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.)