When questioned about her remark that aid for areas hit by the destructive Hurricane Ian should be based on “equity,” Vice President Kamala Harris avoided answering.
At the 51st annual Phoenix Awards dinner, which was held by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on Saturday night in Washington, Harris was questioned by a reporter who said, “Vice President, can you explain what you meant by equality for storm relief?”
Despite giving the reporter a direct look, the vice president did not answer the question and left with a security detail, according to Fox News.
This comes after the vice president of the Democratic Party received harsh criticism for declaring that lower-income areas and people of color are “particularly affected” by these severe [weather] conditions.”
Vice President Harris’ claims were debunked by Christina Pushaw, head of Ron DeSantis’ fast response team for the Republican governor of Florida. She also said that her language was misleading and needed to be clarified. All Floridians affected by Hurricane Ian are already eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance, regardless of their race or origin.
She continued, “The @VP needs to rectify what she said as well,” after her first statement. A true journalist would only inquire as to her intentions and the reasons for her mischaracterization of the aid effort.
Speaking on Friday at the DNC’s Women’s Leadership Forum, Harris said that lower-income areas and people of color are those who are “particularly affected by these catastrophic [weather] circumstances.”
A day after Ian, one of the fiercest hurricanes to ever strike the United States and a mammoth Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Florida, the extent of the destruction became clear.
It wrecked a historic waterfront pier, inundated residences on both the state’s coastlines, cut off the sole road access to a barrier island, knocked off power to 2.67 million Florida homes and businesses, or about a quarter of all utility customers.
In Washington, DC, Harris, 57, made her remarks when she and actress Priyanka Chopra were discussing climate change.
“I know we are all thinking about the people in Florida and Puerto Rico with [Hurricane] Fiona and what we need to do in terms of an early reaction and relief,” the vice president stated.
We must deal with this in a manner that allocates resources based on equity, realizing that we must also work for equity in addition to equality.
Understanding that not everyone starts off at the same position, Harris said, “we sometimes have to take into consideration those differences if we want individuals to be in an equal place.”
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, joined the criticism of Harris.
He responded to a tweet against Harris from Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier. According to Musk, help should be distributed “in accordance with the greatest need, not race or anything else.”
You can’t make this stuff up, Fournier had tweeted. According to Kamala Harris, the government would allocate disaster resources “based on equality” by sending money to “communities of color.” Everyone else is obviously screwed, I suppose.
Later, Pushaw tweeted that Casey DeSantis, the First Lady of Florida, has given qualified charities aiding disaster victims $1 million from Florida’s disaster fund.
Harris already made news earlier this week when traveling to South Korea for the incorrect reasons when she extolled the US’s “strong partnership” with the “Republic of North Korea.”
North Korea increased the danger of a viable nuclear power that can attack the United States and its allies by launching missiles before and after Harris’ visit to the peninsula, continuing a record pace of weapons testing this year.
Additionally, Pyongyang performed its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017.
The United Nations Security Council has long prohibited North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles.
Despite these mistakes, President Joe Biden declared: “Kamala won’t be the last woman to be vice president — or president” at a White House gathering on Friday.