Harris campaign co-chair gets testy with MacCallum when she ruined his

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Fox News host Martha MacCallum locked horns with the co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign in a heated debate on the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

Cedric Richmond accused MacCallum of looking for a “soundbite” during the contentious interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Story” on Tuesday as the host sought answers on the reported lack of timely federal aid following the deadly storm that left more than 230 dead in its wake.

“Why did it take a week for FEMA to get on the ground? And during that time, we did see a lot of campaigning going on, so it raises questions about who is callous in this situation,” MacCallum began.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

“Well, thank you for having me,” Richmond said, adding, “Let me just correct something first.”

“It wasn’t a week before FEMA got on the ground. Second, I lived through Hurricane Katrina and Rita. And after devastating storms, it takes a moment to reach everybody where they are. And what communities do, is they don’t wait on government. They start to work. But what this administration has done, is already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to victims of the hurricane. And what you do is, FEMA sets up a hotline. People start to apply for immediate cash funds,” Richmond continued.

“But they need money, sir,” MacCallum told him. “They have people who are missing. I talked to a family yesterday. Her mother is still missing.”

The Fox News host noted that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had said necessary assets for rescue and recovery efforts were not in place ahead of the hurricane.

“How do you respond to that?” MacCallum asked. “Why was that not the case with Helene?”

“If you give me a chance to answer, I will,” Richmond said in response. “There were assets prepositioned before Helene. And that happens in every storm in coordination with FEMA and others. And look, what we won’t do is play tit for tat because this is too serious. I watched 1,500 people die in Hurricane Katrina and Rita. So, this may be cute, this may be a sound bite for you, but this is real life.”

“Exactly,” MacCallum responded. “That’s what I’m saying.”

“We’re gonna make sure that people understand that there is aid out there,” Richmond continued. “We’re gonna help with recovery, we’re gonna help rescue people. You saw the National Guard out there. You saw the Coast Guard out there rescuing people. That’s the federal government coming in to help cities and states. And we’re gonna be there for Florida when [Hurricane Milton] happens.”

MacCallum again reiterated that the reality coming from people in these affected areas is telling a different story.

“I’m just talking to real people on the ground and our reporters are and that’s what their reality was,” she explained as Richmond insisted “FEMA has boots on the ground going door-to-door so people can apply with FEMA.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.