GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally in battleground North Carolina on Sunday to talk about her economic plans and highlight the start of early voting in the state Thursday, her campaign said. announced.
Watch the event in the player above.
Harris appeared before a predominantly black church audience in Greenville early Sunday morning and accused Donald Trump of spreading misinformation about the government’s hurricane response.
Although Democratic presidential candidate Harris did not mention Trump by name, she is the most prominent person to spread false claims about the Biden administration’s response to hurricanes Milton and Helen. Florida was in the path of both storms, which also hit North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Read more: Harris says Trump was ‘incredibly irresponsible’ for spreading Helen’s misinformation
The vice president spoke at the Koinonia Christian Center about the “heroes” who help residents regardless of their political affiliation.
“But, dear members of the church, there are people who are not acting in a community spirit. I’m talking about literally not telling the truth and working hard to help those in need. “These are people who have been spreading lies and sometimes disinformation about people. We need truth and facts,” Harris said.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris stands next to Bishop Rosie S. O’Neill and former Congresswoman Eva Clayton during a service at Koinonia Christian Center on October 13, 2024 in Greenville, North Carolina. Photo: Jonathan Drake/Reuters
“Beyond the obvious, the problem is that when people are made to believe they can’t be trusted, it’s harder to get life-saving information,” she says. “And that’s the pain of it all: the idea that people in need somehow think that the military is working against them in a way that they don’t ask for help.”
Harris said their motive was clear: “It’s unconscionable because it’s to benefit themselves and to hurt the feelings of others in order to play politics.” “Now is not the time for fear-mongering. It is not right to make people feel alone.”
“As we know, that’s not what leaders do in a crisis,” she said.
After the Helen attack in late September, President Trump made a series of false claims, including saying that Washington was intentionally withholding aid to Republicans in need across the Southeast. The former president falsely claimed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency ran out of funds to help immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally because all the money was spent on programs to help them.
Read more: FEMA chief says false claims about government’s Helen response are ‘really dangerous’
He made his case on Fox News Channel, calling the White House’s response to the storm “absolutely terrible” and repeating his claims about FEMA funding. “It came out of there and everyone knew it,” President Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday and was recorded Thursday.
Harris spoke at a church in Greenville as part of her “Souls to the Polls” campaign to help black church members vote before the Nov. 5 election, marking her second day in North Carolina. opened the curtain.
Madani reported from St. Pete Beach, Florida, and from Superville, Washington.
