WATCH: Fox’s Maria Bartiromo Spreads Lie That Kamala Harris Declared Hurricane Relief Would Be ‘Based on Race’

Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo spread a popular conservative media lie when she told a guest that Vice President Kamala Harris has declared hurricane relief will be distributed “based on race.”

Conservative media and political figures have spent days attacking Vice President Harris over a false claim that she advocated basing hurricane aid on racial equity. The VP participated in a “Fireside Chat with Priyanka Chopra Jonas” on Friday, during which she was asked a lengthy question that concluded with a two-part ask:

Q (C)an you talk just a little bit about the relief efforts, obviously, of Hurricane Ian and what the administration has been doing to address the climate crisis in the states?

But — and just a little follow up, because this is important to me: We consider the global implications of emissions, right? The poorest countries are affected the most.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yeah.

Q They contributed the least and are affected the most. So how should voters in the U.S. feel about the administration’s long-term goals when it comes to being an international influencer on this topic?

After speaking about the recent hurricanes, VP Harris — clearly shifting to “the point that you made about disparities” — spoke about environmental justice, and said “we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity; understanding that not everyone starts out at the same place. And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work.”

That became the basis for false claims that, as Florida Sen. Rick Scott put it during a Face the Nation interview with Margaret Brennan on Sunday, “Harris said yesterday that our day before yesterday that, you know if you if you have a different skin color, you’re going to get relief.”

“That’s not what the vice president said. She talked about equity and the problem within FEMA,” Brennan corrected, but Scott steamrolled her, saying “That’s exactly what she meant” and adding “No, no, no. Wait, wait, Margaret. Margaret, let’s make sure.  FEMA has to be colorblind. FEMA has to provide support to everybody.”

On Tuesday morning’s edition of Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria, that program’s host continued to spread the widely–debunked lie to her guest, Florida Republican Congressman Greg Steube, who then piled on by accusing the VP of making a “completely racist statement”:

MARIA BARTIROMO: I’m told that when the government funding runs out December 16, the Democrats are going to come up with more spending in the NDAA, or more spending to try to jam in as much green spending as they can. Meanwhile, you’ve got Kamala Harris the other day saying that any aid coming from the federal level is going to be based on equity, based on race. I mean, it was absolutely horrifying comments. The White House knows it was horrifying because they’re trying to explain it away, saying she was talking about long-term investment. She was very clear, saying the aid is going to be based on equity.

REP. GREG STEUBE: That’s a completely racist statement by her. I hope that’s really not their intent. And I hope that they’re going to get the aid out to the people that need it regardless of race. Race should not be a factor here.

Watch above via FBN.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.