Aaron Rodgers, Pat McAfee push FEMA conspiracy theories while critiquing U.S. aid to Ukraine

In the final Aaron Rodgers interview on The Pat McAfee Show before Election Day in the U.S., politics were bound to come up.

After a diligent job by Rodgers to stay focused on a huge comeback win by the New York Jets at home on Thursday Night Football for the majority of the interview, he eventually gave in. With McAfee broadcasting from Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, the show was interrupted twice by military planes conducting practice runs ahead of Saturday’s big matchup between Penn State and Ohio State.

The second time the jets flew overhead, Rodgers commented that the flyover blew another $2 million, before adding “It’s $2 million we’re not sending to Ukraine, so that’s fine.”

Soon after, McAfee’s two-hour slot on ESPN ended. But as the show continued on YouTube, Rodgers circled back.

“I just want to clear up one comment that I made, because there is a large Ukrainian flag that flies at 1 Jets Drive,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with Ukraine, at all. I just think that there’s a lot of problems in the United States that $180 billion could maybe help instead of fighting a proxy war. Just to tie that one up. You know, like natural disasters, and FEMA is confiscating bottles of water and food supplies from people trying to help. Like maybe, let’s help those people out. Obviously, FEMA doesn’t have the best record if you go back to 2005 and Katrina. But I think there’s a lot of problems in the States and people hurting that could use more than, I don’t know, what’d they just give out? 600 dollars, 700 dollars? Come on.”

“$750, $750, $750,” interjected McAfee. “And also you go back to Hawaii and what happened there with the fires. We all agree. I think everybody with a sane mind agrees. Understand that the United States of America have to look out for people and everything like that, but we’ve gotta look out for our people too, whenever sh*t happens.”

Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February 2022. The U.S. has repeatedly sent arms and financial support to the former Soviet Bloc country to help it defend itself. Disinformation surrounding the money provided and how it impacts domestic aid has been routinely pushed by conspiracy theorists such as Tucker Carlson.

The FEMA website published a “Myth and Fact” page in early October to dispel related misinformation. The page states that the $750 is a base disbursement that every victim qualifies for as FEMA further assesses damage. It also states that FEMA “has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs” from Helene, and tells those affected “do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance.” It has published a separate page under the headline “Rumor: FEMA will only provide $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery” to state that this is false.

What Rodgers refers to as FEMA “confiscating bottles of water and food supplies” is the kind of conspiracy theory that resulted in an arrest after the U.S. National Guard “repeatedly encountered armed militia saying they were ‘hunting FEMA,'” according to CBS News.

Regarding the fires in Hawaii that McAfee referenced, according to an August 6, 2024 update, FEMA and its federal partners are “on track to provide approximately $3 billion towards Maui wildfire recovery,” which “includes more than $1.3 billion in mission assignments to expedite recovery through debris removal and disposal, temporary housing, school construction, and infrastructure repair.”

McAfee, who has openly mocked any sense of journalistic responsibility as a mainstream media host, pushed forward.

“I think even though during these trade deadline times — NFL trade deadline, Nov. 5, Tuesday, trade early trade often — anytime in these times it feels like common sense is becoming more… I think we’re all kind of coming closer together,” McAfee said. “I think. I hope. And I don’t think Tuesday will display that, but hopefully going forward, we have that happening.”

The PMS crew tried to bait Rodgers all segment, jokingly cloaking their nods to the election by calling it “NFL trade deadline day.” At one point, expert Rodgers troll Boston Connor directly asked the quarterback who he would vote for. Rodgers ignored the question.

It wasn’t until the show left ESPN airwaves for its final hour that the Jets quarterback opened up.

Following the discussion on Ukraine aid versus disaster relief, Rodgers closed his appearance with a barb at swing voters who are swayed by celebrity endorsements.

“If you don’t know what to do on trade deadline, you should just ask your favorite celebrity,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers, a multimillionaire celebrity and famous athlete, advocated for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for president throughout 2023 and 2024 (and briefly considered becoming his running mate).

[The Pat McAfee Show on YouTube]