Tarlov Calls Out Jesse Watters to His Face For Not Shutting Down Trump’s FEMA ‘Lies’
Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov called out her The Five co-host Jesse Watters on Monday for not criticizing President Donald Trump for “spreading lies” about former President Joe Biden and FEMA during Hurricane Helene.
Reacting to the deadly flash flood in Texas on Friday, which killed 91 people – including 27 children who were attending a camp – Tarlov said:
Listen, this is one of the more devastating stories that I think we’ve had to cover. As a mother of two daughters that are going to go to camp at some point, I cannot even imagine what that feels like. I’ve been reading the testimonials, especially about the fathers and grandfathers that are walking around that camp looking for a thermos with their kid’s name on it or some sign that they were there. Maybe they find the body of another camper, maybe they find their own child or grandchild. Unimaginable. I’m so sorry for them and I’m sorry for any hurt that any comments about this tragedy has caused these families.
She then added, however:
I don’t think that talking about preparedness or what might have helped qualifies as impugning the memory of those that have been lost, or detracting from the thoughtful conversation that needs to take place, because this river has been flooding for a very long time. There are a number of instances in this and we were here around the table when Hurricane Helene struck and I did not hear Jesse Watters, who I’m thrilled is back around the table, saying that Donald Trump should stop spreading lies about the Biden administration and the FEMA funds.
Trump came out and he said, “They’re giving your FEMA dollars to illegals. They’re housing them with your FEMA dollars.” Then he said you’re only gonna get $750 from FEMA, which was a complete lie, and there are Republican officials who have testified to the fact that people did not get their FEMA assistance because of what Trump and other Republicans were saying.
Tarlov concluded, “There are over $54 billion in identified needs in terms of disaster resistance when it comes to these kinds of flash floods that state officials are asking for, and the GOP legislature has rejected them. That is something that they can work on to move forward and hopefully avoid a tragedy like this again.”
Trump received backlash in 2024 over his comments about Hurricane Helene, which reportedly led to many of those affected not seeking FEMA assistance.
“It’s frankly ridiculous and just plain false,” said FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell about Trump’s comments at the time. “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people. It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people.”
Watch above via Fox News.
