'Field day for Russia': Ex-Trump staffer slams his 'gross' and 'dangerous' FEMA 'lies'
A former White House communications director for Donald Trump ripped her old boss Monday over the MAGA leader's falsehoods relating to hurricane response in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Alyssa Farah Griffin joined CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on Monday night to discuss the former president's false statements over the weekend that Helene victims were only receiving $750 in disaster relief.
"They send hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign nations. And you know what they're giving our people? 750 bucks," Trump told rally-goers in a clip shared on Cooper's show. He repeated the misleading statement in a second clip as well.
Cooper noted that the $750 is "for immediate need."
"One form of aid, among others, that the government offers," Cooper said, noting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, now has a webpage dedicated to combatting false information.
In a second clip, Trump claims FEMA spent over $1 billion on sheltering "illegal migrants" and said the agency now has "no money" for states reeling from the storm.
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Cooper then played a clip of Thom Tillis, the Republican senior senator of North Carolina, who told CBS News' "Face The Nation" that the Biden administration's immigration policies have not affected its hurricane response.
"Not at this time," said Tillis.
When Cooper asked Griffin her reaction to her former boss' remarks, she gave a blunt assessment.
"It's gross, but it's dangerous," she said.
Griffin said FEMA may have been the "most effective" at executing its job of all the agencies she's worked with.
"He knows this information isn't true and it has real-life consequences on the ground," said Griffin.
Volunteers are depressed due to fears they think there's not a need or they're unable to get where they need, she said. Additionally, FEMA is now spending resources to "knock down these lies," and there are people who need help who are being told the're no help to give, when "in fact, there are quite a lot of federal resources out there."
Moreover, America's adversaries "love this," she said.
"This is a field day for Russia and China who are then going to amplify on social media ahead of the election to tear us apart," she said. "Listen, everything becomes politicized a month out from an election, but this is a step further that I've never really seen something like this. When you're dealing with multiple horrible national natural disasters at the same time."
She added: "It shows Donald Trump is willing to go so low."
Watch the clip below or at this link.