Harris-Walz campaign co-chair, Fox host face off over administration's hurricane response: 'This is real life'

Harris-Walz Campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond and Fox News host Martha MacCallum sparred over the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Helene on Tuesday.

In an interview on Fox News Channel's "The Story," MacCallum questioned why more assets weren't prepositioned for the storm. Richmond disagreed, claiming the opposite and adding that the host was looking for a "soundbite."

"There were assets prepositioned before Helene. And that happens in every storm in coordination with (Federal Emergency Management Agency) FEMA and others," Richmond told MacCallum.

"And look, what we won't do is play tit for tat because this is too serious. I watched 1,500 people die in Hurricane Katrina and Rita. So this may be cute, it may be a soundbite for you, but this is real life," he added.

The interview started by playing a soundbite of Jason Beck, a baseball coach at Montreat College in North Carolina, who described the situation in the state.

"We weren’t getting any help. But then the community just got together, a little town, so the police department, the people got together and when there was no food at all, we were literally cut off, the mountain was cut off from one side," Beck said.

"But to watch the community get together before FEMA, before National Guard, people just pulling everything together," Beck added.

While MacCallum called it "great news" that neighbors were helping each other, she asked Richmond why it took FEMA a week to get on the ground. The New York Times reported last week that FEMA and other officials were facing obstacles when trying to reach more remote parts of North Carolina after Helene.

But Richmond was quick to shut MacCallum down.

"It wasn't a week before FEMA got on the ground. Second, I lived through Hurricane Katrina and Rita and after devastating storms, it takes a moment to reach everybody where they are," Richmond said.

Richmond later added that the administration would make sure that people understand that aid is out there.

"There's aid for you to apply for. We're going to help with recovery. We're going to help rescue people," Richmond said after a brief back-and-forth with MacCallum.

Last week, NewsNation reported that the death toll in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene topped 130.

President Biden toured hurricane-ravaged areas of Asheville, N.C., last week to survey the damage caused by Helene. Harris visited North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Saturday.

Over the weekend, Biden also announced $100 million to help the North Carolina Department of Transportation pay for immediate emergency repairs from Hurricane Helene damage.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar, which also owns The Hill.