What Vice President Harris Said — And Didn’t Say — About Hurricane Relief

In a “fireside chat” with actress Priyanka Chopra, Vice President Kamala Harris said the Biden administration is “thinking about the families in Florida [and] in Puerto Rico” and “what we need to do to help them in terms of an immediate response and aid.”

But she also talked about the long-term need to ensure equitable treatment of “our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme [climate] conditions … that are not of their own making.”

Her remarks, which she made Sept. 30, set off a tsunami of criticism from Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who accused the vice president of saying hurricane relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be based on race.

“Harris said yesterday that — or day before yesterday — that, you know, if you have a different skin color, you’re going to get relief,” Scott said in an Oct. 2 interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Host Margaret Brennan corrected Scott, saying: “That’s not what the vice president said.” Scott replied, “That’s exactly what she meant.”

But Scott was just repeating what had become a Republican talking and .