Vice President Kamala Harris faced massive blowback for her recent statements that the Biden administration prioritized minorities for hurricane relief in the name of “equity.”
Harris made the fateful comments at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C.
“It is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making,” Harris said. However, the areas most affected by Hurricane Iain were primarily white, as the Twitter account for American Virtue notes.
FACT: The most damaged areas from Hurricane Ian are majority-white (Fort Meyers, Naples, Tampa Bay, etc.)
But Kamala Harris thinks they should come second because minorities need their reparations first. pic.twitter.com/ST6jbnKiJc
— American Virtue (@AmVirtueOrg) October 1, 2022
Harris continued, moving from factual claims to more ideological territory.
“And so we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity, understanding not everyone starts out at the same place. And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work.”
Rapid Response Director for Governor DeSantis Christina Pushaw quickly pushed back on the VPs claims, calling them “false” and assuring Floridians that all had access to federal aid.
This is false. @VP's rhetoric is causing undue panic and must be clarified. FEMA Individual Assistance is already available to all Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, regardless of race or background. If you need assistance visit https://t.co/x9X8AstnzL or call 1-800-621-3362. https://t.co/idsw1PX86x
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) September 30, 2022
Political commentator Ken Garner noted that if the policy were true, it would blatantly violate the Constitution. Pushaw responded to the concerns and doubled down, saying that things Harris was simply wrong.
It is NOT Happening the way she said. She didn't tell the truth here.https://t.co/QQ79LLV1nb
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) September 30, 2022
Pushaw took a similar tact when Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted his disapproval of Harris’s statements, again trying to “Set the record straight” to ensure Floridians know to ask for the help they may need.
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Kamala Harris is wrong. I am in Florida, work for @RonDeSantisFL and know many people working on the hurricane response right now. Trying to set the record straight ⬇️ Thank you! https://t.co/zS81qq5dM6
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) October 1, 2022
Ryan would you mind sharing this? I am trying to make it clear to people with loved ones in SWFL that Kamala Harris said something that's false. It's causing a lot of panic and fear. The fact is Floridians are already getting aid regardless of race.https://t.co/QQ79LLDYlb
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) September 30, 2022
Aside from the practical dangers, many Twitter ripped into Harris on an ideological level.
Again, it’s not that we have moronic, insane, despicable people. Every nation has those.
It’s that our worst people now lead all our institutions. Honestly not sure how a nation can survive that. https://t.co/YpXDJXCAVe
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) September 30, 2022
It’s incredible to me that Kamala Harris went on national television and said federal aid will be given out racially when some Floridians of all backgrounds have just lost everything
It’s beyond adding insult to injury. She used her status & flexed her power to revictimize them.
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) October 1, 2022
Kamala Harris just said that hurricane funds will go to people of color first. How about focusing on the communities that are the most effected? I'm so sick of this racist crap.
— Pamela Hensley (@PamelaHensley22) September 30, 2022
I’m old enough to remember when racism was bad.
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) October 1, 2022
This outlook, championed here by Harris and the Biden administration, but recently popularized in the American left-wing, falls in line with the ideas of Critical Race Theorist Ibram X Kendi.
“The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”
Kendi articulates the sentiment more explicitly than politicians are willing to, but they are fundamentally the same idea. And if online reactions are anything to go by, it doesn’t seem popular.
— mammallama (@Jmurph45678) September 30, 2022
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