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VP Harris covers mouth, says ‘it’s a live broadcast’ after stumbling through Hurricane Milton speech

VP Harris covers mouth, says ‘it’s a live broadcast’ after stumbling through Hurricane Milton speech

Vice President Harris, during a Hurricane Milton update from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Wednesday, covered her mouth and appeared to tell staff she was on a live broadcast after stumbling through a speech to the people of Florida. President Biden and Harris received a briefing from disaster relief authorities on life-saving preparations for Hurricane Milton. The two also received the latest updates on the forecast and expected impacts for Florida. While Biden attended the meeting from the White House, Harris and others attended virtually. At one point during the briefing, Harris covered her mouth and appeared to relay a message to someone else. FLORIDA TROOPER RESCUES DOG TIED TO POLE IN PUDDLE AS MILTON HEADS TOWARD STATE, DESANTIS CALLS OWNER ‘CRUEL’ “It’s a live broadcast,” she could be heard saying. The moment came nearly 20 minutes after Harris stumbled through a speech to Floridians. She glanced down multiple times, appearing to reference notes or a script. “To the people of Florida, and in particular, the people of the Tampa region: We urge you to take this storm seriously,” she said. “As has been said before, this is a storm that is expected to be of historic proportions. And many of you, I know are tough… and you’ve ridden out these hurricanes before. This one’s going to be different. HURRICANE MILTON EVACUATIONS IN FLORIDA: WHAT TO PACK AHEAD OF THE STORM “We ask you that by every measure understand it’s going to be more dangerous, more deadly and more catastrophic. So please listen to your local officials,” Harris added. “They know what they’re talking about. They know what they’re doing. And if you are told to evacuate, please evacuate immediately. Do not wait until it is too late.” Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ office for comment on the incident, but has not yet heard back. Hurricane Milton reached Category 5 storm strength multiple times over the course of the last two days, and made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night in the Tampa, Florida area. Forecasters warn that Milton could produce devastating storm surges up to 12 to 13 feet.

In Arizona speech, Vance says next president must put Americans first, slams FEMA money for migrants

In Arizona speech, Vance says next president must put Americans first, slams FEMA money for migrants

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, rallied supporters in Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday, the same day early voting began in the battleground state.  The Republican vice presidential nominee’s message Wednesday underscored the Trump campaign’s “America First” agenda, insisting to rallygoers that putting Americans first is the essence of why politicians exist in the first place.  “This country ought to work for the American people and the American people first,” Vance said. “We can have compassion for people … by all means, we ought to be compassionate. But you know who our leaders owe compassion to most and above all? It’s American citizens. We ought to focus on our own people and put their interests first.” ARIZONA BEGINS IN-PERSON AND ABSENTEE VOTING, HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Vance pointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) administration of funds to migrants for housing and relocation purposes. The roughly $1.7 billion was approved by members on both sides of the aisle in Congress and allowed a slice of FEMA’s funding to go to helping states and localities deal with the ongoing migrant crisis. Simultaneously, FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which is entirely separate from the program helping migrants, has continued to receive funding to the tune of nearly $244 billion, ProPublica reported.   “Disaster relief ought to go to prepare and to respond to a disaster when it strikes American territory. Our government has got to focus on our citizens, put their interests first, take care of American citizens when a disaster hits,” Vance said. “Unfortunately, under Kamala Harris’s leadership, you’ve got FEMA, which is doing resettlement and relocation for illegal immigration. “FEMA should take care of American citizens when a disaster strikes. That’s all it should be doing. And when Donald Trump and I are back in office, that’s all it’s going to do.” SWING STATE GOP CHAIR SLAMS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN FOR BEING OUT OF TOUCH ON KEY ISSUE: ‘ABANDONED THIS COUNTRY’ At Wednesday’s rally, held at Tucson Speedway, Vance was joined by his wife, Usha, former national security adviser under Trump, Robert O’Brien, RNC Chair Michael Whatley and Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda. Vance implored people to get out and vote early if they have to, despite past criticisms from both him and Trump about early voting. Vance hearkened back to 2020, when, according to Vance, people who were going to vote for Trump on Election Day could not because of unforeseen circumstances. NEW POLL REVEALS WHICH VOTER GROUP ARE FUELING TRUMP TO A NARROW EDGE OVER HARRIS IN BATTLEGROUND   “I don’t like election season. I like Election Day. But we are where we are, my friends,” Vance said. “We’ve got an election season, and if the Democrats are taking advantage of it, we’ve got to do the exact same thing. So whether you’re voting on Election Day, or voting by mail or voting early, get out there and make your voice heard. “I talked to a lot of people who planned to vote for Donald Trump in 2020, and 95 out of 100 of them actually went out and voted for Donald Trump. But you talk to the five who didn’t vote for Donald Trump, and it’s not because they changed their mind, it’s because … their kid got sick, so they had to go pick him up from school, or they worked late that night and weren’t able to make it to the polls before they closed. The best way to make sure your voice is counted is to make sure it’s counted early.” A majority of states have already begun early voting by mail and in person. Montana has seen the largest percentage of registered voters request absentee ballots. Biden won Arizona in 2020, but Trump won the state in 2016.     Following Wednesday’s rally, Vance headed to the Mesa, outside Phoenix, for a town hall hosted by the Conservative Political Action Conference.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Vice President Harris, the Democrat presidential nominee, will be in Phoenix on Friday. Former President Trump, the Republican nominee, will be in Prescott Valley on Sunday. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, was also campaigning in Arizona on Wednesday with stops in Chandler, which is outside Phoenix, and Tucson.

Trump charges hurricane response ‘worst since Katrina’ as Biden argues Trump ‘onslaught of lies’ must ‘stop’

Trump charges hurricane response ‘worst since Katrina’ as Biden argues Trump ‘onslaught of lies’ must ‘stop’

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania — Former President Trump is once again taking aim at President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the federal government’s response to back-to-back destructive hurricanes that have targeted the Southeast. “The worst hurricane response since Katrina,” the former president said as he pointed to the much-maligned initial federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which was heavily criticized for being slow and ineffective. Trump, at a campaign event in battleground Pennsylvania, spoke as an extremely powerful and dangerous Hurricane Milton was hours away from slamming into Florida, and as the death toll rises and more than 100,000 people remain without power or running water nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene tore a path of destruction through the southeastern U.S. BIDEN CANCELS OVERSEAS TRIP AS MILTON BEARS DOWN ON FLORIDA With less than four weeks to go until Election Day in November, Trump and Harris are locked in a bitter margin-of-error showdown in the race to succeed Biden in the White House, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the seven key battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 election, the politics of federal disaster relief are again front and center on the campaign trail. EYE OF THE STORM: BACK-TO-BACK HURRICANES IMPACT HARRIS-TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL RACE Trump for nearly two weeks has repeatedly attacked Biden and Harris and accused them of being incompetent. “She’s just led the worst rescue operation in history in North Carolina,” Trump said as he lobbed another political bomb at the vice president. “The worst ever, they say.” And the former president once again made false claims that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) diverted money intended for disaster relief and spent it on undocumented migrants in the U.S. as he turned up the volume on his inflammatory rhetoric over the combustible issue of illegal immigration. “You know where they gave the money to: illegal immigrants coming,” Trump said as the crowd of MAGA supporters loudly booed. CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE STORMS A couple of hours earlier, as the president and vice president received their latest briefing from FEMA and other federal agencies on storm preparations in Florida and relief efforts across the Southeast, Biden said that “we have made available an unprecedented number of assets to deal with this crisis, and we’re going to continue to do so until the job is done.” And the president had a message for his predecessor in the White House. “Over the last few weeks, there has been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people. It’s undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that has already been taken and will continue to be taken, and it’s harmful to those who need help the most. There is simply no place for this to happen,” he said. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS WEATHER UPDATES ON HURRICANE MILTON Pointing to the Republican presidential nominee, Biden said that “former President Trump has led this onslaught of lies. Assertions have been made that property is being confiscated. That’s simply not true.” Biden said rhetoric from Trump and other Republicans was “beyond ridiculous” and that “it’s got to stop.” “In moments like this, there are no red or blue states. There’s one United States of America, where neighbors are helping neighbors. Volunteers and first responders are risking everything, including their own lives, to help their fellow Americans; state, local and federal officials are standing side by side,” the president said. Harris, who in July replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, had a similar message during an interview Wednesday on the Weather Channel. “This is not a time for us to just point fingers at each other as Americans,” Harris said. “Anybody who considers themselves to be a leader should really be in the business right now of giving people a sense of confidence that we’re all working together and that we have the resources and the ability to work together on their behalf, on behalf of the people of our country. And that’s what I’m focused on.” Earlier this week, Harris and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida traded fire over whether he ignored hurricane-related calls from her. But when it comes to the federal response, DeSantis, along with other Republican governors in the storm-affected region, had no complaints about the federal assistance. The governor reiterated those comments Tuesday morning in an interview on “FOX and Friends.” “Every request that we’ve made — I’ve been in contact with the president, I’ve been in contact with the FEMA director. All of our requests have been answered,” DeSantis said. Fox News’ Matthew Reidy and Matteo Cina contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.