Trump falsely claims Biden used FEMA funds for migrants — something Trump did himself
Win McNamee/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump has been spreading false claims about the Biden-Harris administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, including the baseless claim that the administration is using Federal Emergency Management Agency money to house illegal migrants. Some of Trump’s allies, including Elon Musk, have been amplifying those claims.
Those claims are not true. But ironically, Trump attempted something similar to what he falsely claims the Biden/Harris administration is doing when he was president.
Back in 2019, Trump used money from FEMA’s disaster fund for migrant programs at the southern border. In August 2019, the Trump administration told Congress it intended to shift $271 million in funding from DHS — including $155 million from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund — to pay for detaining and transporting undocumented immigrants and temporary hearing locations for asylum-seekers.
According to a FEMA monthly report, $38 million was given to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August of that year.
At the time, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called it “backwards and cruel” to divert FEMA money at the start of hurricane season.
“Congress appropriated these funds to meet the American people’s priorities and I strongly oppose this effort to undermine our constitutional authority,” Schumer said at the time.
The White House has been hitting back at the misinformation, stressing that funding for migrant services is run through a separate spigot at Customs and Border Patrol and is not related to FEMA’s disaster recovery efforts. FEMA has also created a fact-checking page on its website.
As for the Harris campaign, they’re letting the Biden administration take the lead on combating misinformation, while amplifying the official response.
But the vice president called Trump out Monday afternoon for pushing falsehoods.
“There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, in particular, to the survivors of Helene,” Harris said. “And, first of all, it’s extraordinarily irresponsible. It’s about him. It’s not about you.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the race reaches one week until Election Day, Kamala Harris is set to deliver her “closing argument” Tuesday night on The Ellipse — in the same spot where Donald Trump rallied his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, to march on the U.S. Capitol nearby.
Trump will try to preempt Harris’s remarks when he speaks to reporters Tuesday morning at Mar-a-Lago after declaring he’s “the opposite of a Nazi” on Monday night in Georgia. He holds a rally later in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with a large population of Puerto Rican Americans.
More than 47 million Americans have voted early
As of 5:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday, more than 47 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the total number of early votes, 24,243,105 were cast in person and 23,384,971 were returned by mail
There is now just one week until Election Day.
Trump claims to ABC’s Scott he didn’t hear comedian’s Puerto Rico comment, doesn’t denounce it
The former president denied knowing the comedian who made a slew of racist, sexist and vulgar comments at his rally at Madison Square Garden, ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reports.
That comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, drew headlines in part for calling Puerto Rico an “island of floating garbage.”
“I don’t know him, someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is,” Trump told ABC’s Scott.
Trump also insisted he didn’t hear any of the comments, even as they’ve been played on television and written about extensively. When asked what he made of them, he did not take the opportunity to denounce them, repeating that he didn’t hear the comments.
Trump expressed confidence that he will win the White House with just a week to go.
Harris set for closing pitch on The Ellipse near the Capitol and White House
Harris will deliver a speech at the Ellipse on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Harris’ campaign said she plans to paint Trump as someone who is consumed by his grievances and an endless desire for retribution, highlighting his pledge to go after those on his “enemies list” and how it contrasts with Harris’ focus on her “to-do list.”
Her closing argument will highlight what she claims is a desire for Americans to “turn the page” from Trump by stressing her plans and priorities for the country, namely the economy. The vice president has promised to bring down costs and prioritize the middle class in her “opportunity economy.”
Fallout continues from comedian’s comment on Puerto Rico at Trump rally
Trump is set to deliver remarks to reporters at 10 a.m. ET in Florida before heading to Pennsylvania — a swing state with a significant Puerto Rican population.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a radio interview on Monday: “We’re the proud home to about a half a million Puerto Ricans. I’m damn proud to be their governor.”
Trump’s campaign has tried to distance itself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments, saying they don’t reflect their views. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, told reporters on Monday he hadn’t seen the comment made by the comedian but that people had to “stop getting so offended.”
Trump did not address the Puerto Rico comment during his rally in Georgia on Monday night, though he called the New York City event “one of the greatest rallies in the history of the world.”
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama ripped Trump for the anti-immigrant rhetoric at his MSG rally while campaigning for Harris. “These are fellow citizens he’s talking about,” Obama told a crowd gathered in Philadelphia.
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday confirmed he would declare a national emergency to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Overnight, Trump responded to a social media post from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who said earlier this month there are reports the incoming administration is preparing such a declaration and to use “military assets” to deport the migrants.
Trump pledged to get started on mass deportations as soon as he enters office.
“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,” he said during a rally at Madison Square Garden in the closing days of the presidential race. “I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”
Already, he’s tapped several immigration hard-liners to serve in key Cabinet positions. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was picked to be homeland security secretary, pending Senate confirmation. Former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan was named “border czar.”
Homan previously discussed his vision for mass deportations, saying they would first concentrate on expelling criminals and national security threats. He didn’t rule out deporting families together.
Throughout the campaign, Trump vowed to mobilize the National Guard to assist with the deportation effort. Experts told ABC News such a move would mark a fundamental shift for the military, which does not normally engage with domestic law enforcement issues.
At times, Trump went further, suggesting thousands of troops from overseas be moved to the U.S.-Mexico border.
There are an estimated 11 million unauthorized migrants living in the U.S. without legal immigration status. Removing them could cost billions of dollars per year, according to estimates from the American Immigration Council.
Plus, mass deportations could have a broader economic impact by resulting in a loss of tax revenue and labor shortages.
ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz recently reported from California on the impact Trump’s immigration and mass deportations plans could have on the American agriculture industry.
“If you took away my workforce, you wouldn’t eat. If you go into the San Joaquin Valley and you start doing what you’re saying, it’s over. The country will stop, literally stop because the food system won’t move,” said Manuel Cunha Jr., the president of the Nisei Farmers League.
State Department photo by Freddie Everett/Public Domain
(NEW YORK) — The United States is dealing with a “heightened threat environment,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says, as the FBI is investigating an apparent second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
It’s not only the “historic threat of foreign terrorists” that persists, but also home-grown extremists, Mayorkas said Tuesday.
“We’re now speaking of individuals radicalized to violence because of ideologies of hate, anti-government sentiment, personal narratives and other motivations propagated on online platforms,” the secretary said during the POLITICO AI & Tech Summit.
Threats from both at home and abroad are worrisome, senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and members of Congress say. FBI Director Christopher Wray has previously said he sees “blinking red lights everywhere” in terms of terror threats.
On Sunday, Ryan Wesley Routh was allegedly lying in wait for nearly 12 hours near the Republican presidential nominee’s West Palm Beach golf course before a Secret Service agent spotted him, according to a criminal complaint.
Routh did not get off a single shot, Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe said Monday, and at no time was the former president in the sight line of the suspect. The suspect was taken into custody and faces charges of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, prosecutors said.
The former president has the same level of security that is “quite approximate” to President Joe Biden’s, Mayorkas said Tuesday, adding that agents did their job on Sunday and “they deserve to be commended for it.”
Trump, speaking Tuesday in a phone interview with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, also praised the Secret Service for stopping the apparent assassination attempt.
“I’m fine. The Secret Service did a good job, actually,” he said.
Trump also spoke about the heightened threat environment, telling ABC News, “Probably always been dangerous, but it’s more so now, I think.”
In the wake of the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a bulletin to law enforcement across the country warning them that violent extremists could try to conduct “follow-on or retaliatory” attacks at events over the next few months related to the 2024 presidential election.
During a March hearing in front of Congress, the FBI director testified that threats from various groups have reached a “whole other level.”
“Even before [Hamas’ attack against Israel on] October 7, I would have told this committee that we were at a heightened threat level from a terrorism perspective — in the sense that it’s the first time I’ve seen in a long, long time,” Wray said on March 11.
“The threats from homegrown violent extremists — that is jihadist-inspired, extremists, domestic violent extremists, foreign terrorist organizations and state-sponsored terrorist organizations — all being elevated at one time since October 7, though, that threat has gone to a whole other level,” he said at the time.
In the aftermath of the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump, the Secret Service said it changed the way the former president is protected. Former director Kimberly Cheadle, who came under scrutiny for the agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt, also resigned.
Secretary Mayorkas appointed a new acting director — Rowe — and praised him for stepping up and leading the agency.
“I appreciate his willingness to lead the Secret Service at this incredibly challenging moment, as the agency works to get to the bottom of exactly what happened on July 13 and cooperate with ongoing investigations and Congressional oversight,” Mayorkas said at the time. “At the same time, the Secret Service must effectively carry on its expansive mission that includes providing 24/7 protection for national leaders and visiting dignitaries and securing events of national significance in this dynamic and heightened threat environment.”
During an April hearing in front of a congressional committee, the secretary said there’s been a “dramatic increase” in the number of threats facing Jewish and Muslim people in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
“We’re certainly operating in a charged political environment, and there are many reasons for that,” Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, told ABC News on Monday.
“Certainly the partisanship of our country in recent years has something to do with it, easy access to buy military-style weapons also plays a role in it, and also importantly, our adversaries are purposefully trying to stoke divisions within our country between Americans through social media and other means,” he said.
The intelligence community has warned of foreign actors, mainly Russia, China and Iran, carrying out influence operations in the United States with an aim to divide the country ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department alleged that two employees of Russia Today, or RT — a Russian state-controlled media outlet, implemented a nearly $10 million scheme “to fund and direct a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate content deemed favorable to the Russian government.”
“So it’s important that the Department of Justice just announced a series of actions to prosecute individuals who are involved in a Russian plot to try to divide Americans against each other politically,” said Magaziner, who’s also the ranking member on the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence.
“And we need all of our federal agencies, the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, CISA [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency] and others, to remain vigilant and to expose those foreign actors who are trying to turn Americans against each other,” he added.
John Sandweg, former general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security under then-President Barack Obama, agreed.
“The situation is inflamed by a multitude of factors, but I do think it is important to emphasize the role that foreign state adversaries are playing — not only with regards to their support for extremist groups abroad, or efforts to disrupt and influence the election, but also through their efforts to further divide us as a nation,” Sandweg told ABC News on Monday, adding this is an “unprecedented” threat environment.
