White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre battled with reporters in the daily briefing Monday when questions were raised about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) refusal to take calls from President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Helene — and Donald Trump's false claims about relief funding.
"It's up to him if he wants to respond to us or not," the Jean-Pierre said about DeSantis. "But what we're doing is we're working with state and local officials to make sure we are ready to be there for the communities that are going to be impacted. We are doing the job." She was speaking as another hurricane bearing down on Florida was upgraded to a Category 5 storm.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who often faces off with the White House, asked about a debunked claim made by Donald Trump that the White House doesn't have the funds to support North Carolina hurricane victims because the money was used on services for immigrants and for international spending.
Read Also: 'Hugely offensive': Dems blast 'crazy' Trump's new J6 debate claims
"The administration has money to send to Lebanon without Congress coming back. But Congress does have to come back to approve money to send to people in North Carolina. Do I have that right?" Doocy asked.
Jean-Pierre said that the White House has had a "whole of government" response to Hurricane Helene, including more than $200 million that's been distributed thus far.
The problem, she said, is the "disinformation and misinformation" being spread which she said has made some people reluctant to ask for help.
"But, President Biden is fond of saying, 'Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value,'" Doocy said. "If he's got money for people in Lebanon right now without Congress coming back, what does it say about his values that there's not enough money right now to give to people in North Carolina who need it?"
"Your whole premise of the question is misinformation, sir," said Jean-Pierre, saying that it assumes the false claim that there's no money for hurricane victims is true when it isn't.
See the video below or at the link here.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
