‘I’m Talking!’ CNN Anchor Cuts Off Trump Spox In Smackdown Over Trump Hurricane Lies

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan hammered Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt over former President Donald Trump’s lies about hurricane response and ended the interview by telling Leavitt she never answered her question after “I offered you 3 times!”

Trump and his allies in the media and politics have been spreading misleading information and outright lies about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Biden administration responses to the devastating Hurricane Helene, as well as the upcoming response to Hurricane Milton.

In particular, Trump has been pushing a debunked claim that FEMA money was taken from Hurricane response to house migrants.

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN News Central, Bolduan went ten rounds with Leavitt over the storm misinformation — then sent her off with a disappointed summation:

KATE BOLDUAN: Things that the former president has said is FEMA funds were stolen to be used to house illegal migrants, that no one from FEMA was on the ground in North Carolina, that funds were being withheld from Republican areas of the state on purpose.

None of that is true. The head of FEMA says that worse than it not being true, it is dangerous that if this is pushed and circulated for the people who are most in need of help.

With that knowledge, is the former president going to stop saying this?

KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, first of all, Kate, let me just express our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in western North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and now Florida who are bracing for another devastating hurricane. The bottom line is that FEMA spent $1 billion on funding for illegal immigrants that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden let into the country. CNN and many mainstream media outlets reported that more than a month ago.

Now, today, we find ourselves in a predicament where Americans are in dire situations in need of food and of water. And Secretary Mayorcas last week said that FEMA does not have sufficient funding to get through this crisis and through the rest of hurricane season.

KATE BOLDUAN: But Karoline, speaking of Terry McAuliffe, I want to.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: (CONSTANT CROSSTALK)

KATE BOLDUAN: No, no, no. But first on that, let’s let’s get let’s get to let’s keep to the facts, which is on that that suggestion that Donald Trump did make, that they were stealing money from FEMA and using it, and it’s all gone because they’re using it to house migrants. That’s not true. There’s no disaster relief fund money that was going in that was going to house migrants.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: I don’t think the American people care which pocket the money came from…

…

KATE BOLDUAN: What you’re now saying is that you think it is–. You don’t you don’t think American people care where the money comes from. It is– You think it is bad that they’re using FEMA money to house migrants. Ironically, Donald Trump attempted something very similar to what he falsely now is claiming about them in 2019. Trump used–.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: (INDISTINCT).

KATE BOLDUAN: I’m talking! Let me finish! Trump used money from FEMA’s disaster fund for migrant programs at the southern border. He told Congress that he was intending at the time in 2019 to shift $271 million from DHS, including $155 million from FEMA’s disaster relief fund to pay for detaining and transporting undocumented immigrants.

Less than that was transferred from less less than the 150 million was transferred. But money was transferred by Donald Trump in 2019 and the Trump administration from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund to house migrants. So is he is he then okay with moving disaster relief funds for dealing with migrants, but now is not? Is that what you’re saying?

KAROLINE LEAVITT: What President Trump didn’t do is allow an open border policy for four years…

KATE BOLDUAN: It’s okay for Donald Trump to do it. It is not okay for the for the Biden administration to do it.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: (INDISTINCT)

KATE BOLDUAN: Karoline. It’s okay–. Donald Trump did that. Donald Trump did that in 2019, his administration.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: President Trump did not allow an invasion of illegal immigrants into our country, again and use billions of dollars to fund them in housing to put them into luxury hotels…

…

KATE BOLDUAN: Also, the word of a Republican member of Congress who says that these rumors that Donald Trump has been pushing, in part, the things he’s been saying is not true.

You say you haven’t heard Kamala Harris answer a question. I’m just going to leave it here.

But I’m not hearing you answer the question of why was okay for the Trump administration to use disaster relief funds in order to deal with migrants in 2019, and it is now completely not okay. And something he’s hitting the administration on now.

We’re going to leave it there, because I offered you three times to give me the answer and I’m not getting it! We’ll talk more.

Watch above via CNN News Central.