“Quite frankly, these lies are un-American,” Biden said from the
White House. “Former President Trump has led this onslaught of
lies.”
Biden said that Donald Trump and his allies have misrepresented
the response and resources of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. The president singled out Republican Rep. Marjorie
Taylor Greene of Georgia who claimed the federal government
could control the weather.
Asked why he believed his Republican opponents were not talking
accurately about the government’s response, Biden said, “I don’t
know. I simply don’t know. ... I use a phrase more than I did in
my whole career, un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not who in
the hell we are.”
The president talked about the potential damage from Hurricane
Milton and encouraged people near its path to seek shelter.
Biden said the government had staged 20 million meals and 40
million liters of water in anticipation of the storm and that
military units were ready with search and rescue teams to help
victims of it.
“We’ve got your back,” Biden said, then referring to Vice
President Kamala Harris, who replaced him in July at the top of
the presidential ticket: “Kamala and I will be there for as long
as it takes to rescue, recover and rebuild.”
Bristling at misinformation is something Biden and Harris have
done a lot of lately, including earlier Wednesday during a
virtual briefing at the White House on federal preparations for
Milton. The president had even harsher words for Greene then,
saying her comments on the weather were “beyond ridiculous.”
"It’s gotta stop,” Biden said, adding that such assertions were
“off the wall” and “like out of a comic book.”
Still, most of his criticism has been directed at Trump. At
rallies for November's presidential election, the former
president has sought to energize his voters by criticizing how
Biden and Harris have handled the response to the severe
weather.
At a recent rally in Wisconsin, Trump said it was worse than the
government's response in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina, which
resulted in 1,392 fatalities. By contrast, Hurricane Helene has
resulted in roughly 230 deaths.
“This is the worst response to a storm or a catastrophe or a
hurricane that we’ve ever seen, ever,” Trump said. “Probably
worse than Katrina, and that’s hard to beat, right?”
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|