Abby Phillip appeared to be in complete disbelief after a Republican guest on CNN NewsNight defended Donald Trump’s claims that the Biden administration “stole” funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and spent money on housing immigrants.
“The former president has an election to win in just about a month. With 31 days until America votes, it’s pretty clear that he is willing to break the rules—and the truth—to do it,” Phillip said.
“The latest episode: his plainly false insistence that the Biden administration is starving people stuck and struck by this storm, Hurricane Helene.”
After showing clips from Trump’s recent rallies where he claimed U.S. states were cash-strapped because it had been spent money on immigrants, the NewsNight host confronted former California lieutenant governor Abel Maldonado over Trump’s “lot of lies in a few seconds.”
“Why does Donald Trump continue to insist on politicizing this storm that is actively still occurring, people are still in need of help, and lying about it so consistently?” Phillip asked Maldonado.
What came next shocked Phillip—while Bomani Jones, who was also appearing as a guest on the show, raised his eyebrows at Maldonado.
“Abby, I don’t see him politicizing this storm,” the former lieutenant governor said. “He is down there showing that he’s a leader.”
Phillip set the record straight: “But he’s claiming that Biden is withholding aid because these people are I guess, presumptively Republicans. That’s just patently false.”
But Maldonado kept defending the former president.
“I think President Trump is down there making a very big point and raising the flag. This state needs a lot of help. The one thing that you can’t accuse him of is not being is a leader,” he said.
“With all due respect, he is lying,” Phillip retorted.
“I don’t see him as being not consistent with the facts,” Maldonado responded.
As Maldonado veered into speaking about Trump’s support for North Carolina, Phillip hammered down the nail as she pointed out a Washington Post story about how Trump himself spent $155 million—earmarked for emergencies—on building detention centers.
She pointed to a Washington Post fact check that noted that not only did Biden not spend FEMA money on migrants, Trump actually did. As president, he redirected $155 million in disaster funds—in the middle of hurricane season—to build detention centers and hearing locations for asylum seekers.
President Biden didn’t take any FEMA relief money for housing immigrants, the piece also reported.
