By Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday that Hurricane Milton carried incredible destructiveness and urged people to take safe shelter while condemning misinformation about the storm as un-American.
“It’s harmful to those that need help,” Biden said of misinformation on the storm and the government's response.
Republican former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, has sought to portray the Biden-Harris administration's response to recent storms as ineffective, including claiming without evidence that aid and Federal Emergency Management Agency funding had been diverted to migrants.
“It is dangerous – it is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who would consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled, and that’s why I call it dangerous,” Harris said in an interview with CNN, according to the network.
Asked why Trump was spreading misinformation, Biden said he did not know.
"I simply don’t know. You can speculate, but I just find it - I’ve used the phrase more than I’ve ever used it in my career - it’s un-American. It’s un-American. It’s not who the hell we are," he said at the White House.
At least three congressional Republicans, including Representative Chuck Edwards, whose North Carolina district was hit hard by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, condemned conspiracy theories repeated by fellow members of their party about the storms.
FEMA has sought to combat misinformation with a page on its website titled "Hurricane Rumor Response." The site dispels rumors, including declaring it false that the agency was blockading people in Florida.
"FEMA does not control traffic flow or conduct traffic stops, which are handled by local authorities. This is a harmful rumor that can put lives in danger," it said.
Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida's west coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind ahead of its expected landfall.