Fox News Hosts Dishonestly Cut off Kamala Harris Speech to Claim Hurricane Victims Are Only Getting $750
In one of the more dishonest omissions ever seen on Fox News – which is saying something – viewers of Thursday’s episodes of The Ingraham Angle, Jesse Watters Primetime, and Hannity were left with the impression that victims of Hurricane Helene are getting shafted by the federal government.
Fox News has been working feverishly to reelect Donald Trump, whose false election claims the network promoted and, in return, got the business end of a $787.5 million settlement in a defamation case last year. For Fox News, it’s the cost of doing business.
To wit, on Thursday, Laura Ingraham and Jesse Watters aired a clip of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking in hurricane-ravaged Georgia the previous day. As Harris spoke on Ingraham’s show, the Fox News chyron read, “Kamala: Here’s $750 that’ll do the trick.”
“Federal relief and assistance that we have been providing has included FEMA providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula, and the like, an–”
The clip Ingraham played was cut mid-sentence – not because what was next wasn’t relevant. It was. The clip was cut so Ingraham could mislead her viewers.
“Imagine losing your house, your transportation, basic necessities, and women looking for diapers,” Ingraham said. “Most stores, by the way, in the area are wiped out. And all you’re getting right now is a $750 check she referenced from the federal government? The government you have been sending taxes to for your entire life? Yeah, and where they gonna buy that baby food, Kamala?”
Watters aired the same clip in the next hour.
“Seven hundred fifty dollars per person in America after you lost your entire home, all of your belongings, and you have no food power, or water,” Watters said.
The next hour, it was Sean Hannity’s turn. Though he did not air Harris’s speech, he described the hurricane assistance in equally dishonest terms.
“The little money that they have given out is described as a one-time grant that gives storm victim a lousy what – $750?” Hannity said. “Can they open their eyes? Are they not aware of the devastation? We don’t even know how many other people are in deep trouble because they can’t get to them and they haven’t put the resources forward to get to them.”
As X/Twitter super-poster Acyn Torbai noted in the video below, Fox News actually carried Harris’s speech live the previous day. The vice president explained that the $750 is just the beginning of the assistance available to impacted residents.
Had these shows continued playing Harris’s speech, this is what viewers would have heard:
And you can apply now, for anyone who’s watching this who has been affected. There are FEMA personnel who are going door to door to interact personally with folks, especially those who do not have electricity. But also that aid, if you have electricity, can be applied for online. I encourage people do that. FEMA will just basically verify your address and the process should take hold.
The messed up part here is that there may very well be Fox News viewers impacted by Helene with electricity and who could apply for aid. But instead of informing viewers that they may qualify for help, Fox News hosts would rather dunk on Harris using lies of omission.
The vice president continued:
FEMA is also providing tens of thousands of more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with the home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs. Today, I’m also announcing that the president has approved the governor’s request for 100% federal reimbursement of local costs… Also, we will be covering 100% of the local costs for food, water, and shelter.
That is a lot more than $750, to put it mildly.
Watch above via Fox News.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
