Martha Raddatz Grills J.D. Vance Over Trump’s False Claim on FEMA Aid to Red States
ABC/screen grab
ABC News host Martha Raddatz pressed Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance during a Sunday interview, challenging his defense of former President Donald Trump’s claim that FEMA was withholding aid from red states recovering from recent hurricanes. Trump had suggested that federal assistance was being diverted from Republican areas to support migrants, a claim that Raddatz made clear was unsubstantiated.
“During Hurricane Helene, as we heard, former President Trump suggested the federal government was not only sending FEMA aid meant for the hurricane to migrants but going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” Raddatz reminded Vance.
Vance, attempting to explain Trump’s statement, responded, “Well, Martha, what the president said is that fundamentally, FEMA aid is distracted by going to illegal migrants.” He added, “I do think that we had a fundamentally incompetent, overly bureaucratic response to the hurricane.”
However, Raddatz wasn’t satisfied with Vance’s explanation and pressed him further. “He said they’re going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” she emphasized. “There is no truth to that.”
She reiterated that Trump’s claim about FEMA deliberately neglecting Republican areas was false, prompting Vance to shift the focus. “So President Trump, former President Trump, is saying things that aren’t true about that money being withheld from Republican areas,” Raddatz clarified.
Vance, seemingly frustrated, accused Raddatz of “confusing staging of resources from the rapid response of the U.S. military.” He downplayed Trump’s false statements, instead pivoting to criticism of the current administration. “I’m much more worried about the incompetence of Kamala Harris’ administration that led to that more than I am the fact that Donald Trump allegedly said something wrong,” he stated.
Raddatz, however, was quick to point out that Vance’s claims were also inaccurate, citing officials directly involved in the hurricane response. “Senator Vance, I’m just gonna say that local officials, local officials, and FEMA officials say that is just flat wrong,” she concluded, calling out the inaccuracy of the claims.
The tense exchange highlighted the continued efforts by some Republican figures to defend Trump’s controversial statements, even when faced with clear evidence to the contrary, while Raddatz’s questioning underscored the role of the media in holding political figures accountable for misinformation.
