(DCWaychdog.com) – Vice President Kamala Harris has caused controversy by stating that federal relief aid for the victims of Hurricane Ian, which just ravaged Florida, would be distributed “based on equity,” focusing on “communities of color.”
You can watch the video clip of Harris’ comments further down this post.
Harris’s “equity-not-equality” declaration came as she was speaking at the Women’s Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC, at the end of last week.
The vice president was hosted by actress and model Priyanka Chopra, who emphasized the topic of climate change.
“I know we are all thinking about the families in Florida and Puerto Rico with [Hurricane] Fiona and what we need to do to help them in terms of an immediate response and aid… We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity,” Harris declared.
“Understanding not everyone starts out at the same place, and if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities,” she argued further.
She also insisted that people of color and lower-income communities are “most impacted by these extreme [weather] conditions.”
At least 83 people have perished after Ian struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane last week, becoming one of the strongest hurricanes to have ever pummeled the territory of the United States.
The storm has caused widespread damage to homes and infrastructure, leaving 2.67 million homes and public venues without electricity.
Vice President Harris’s comments that aid would not be distributed universally and based on need led to a response by the administration of Florida’s GOP Governor Ron DeSantis.
“This is false. VP’s rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified. FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background,” reacted on Twitter Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’s disaster response director and former press officer.
“The VP needs to correct what she said as well. A real journalist would simply ask her to clarify what she meant by those comments and why she misrepresented the relief effort,” Pushaw added in another tweet.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, also seemed indignant over Kamala Harris’s remarks.
“[Relief aid] should be according to greatest need, not race or anything else,” Musk tweeted in response to a post sharing the vice president’s comments.
Here is the video clip of Harris’ comments:
Kamala Harris suggests hurricane and disaster relief should be based on race. pic.twitter.com/DjjotmhJds
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 30, 2022
