Biden grilled for touting Hudson Tunnel project on NYC trip despite city's migrant crisis: 'Ignoring' reality

President Biden boasted about his infrastructure spending while visiting the Hudson Tunnel in New York City, Tuesday, where he unveiled a $292 million grant to build a new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. 

The president, however, failed to acknowledge the growing migrant crisis in the city where, just 30 blocks north, a group of migrants is refusing to leave a luxury hotel where they have been staying for free. The group remains in protest outside the Watson Hotel in New York City, sleeping in the streets for nearly two days to push back against relocation from their taxpayer-funded hotel in Manhattan to a migrant crisis center in Brooklyn.

Co-hosts of "The Big Money Show" responded, giving the president a "reality check."

"What it reminds me of is when he went down to the border, and he visited a very cleaned-up section and didn't really admit that we've got a serious problem on our hands. That's what's happening here in New York City right now," co-host Jackie DeAngelis said on the show Tuesday.

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"I don't feel I'm that worried about a rail tunnel right now," she added. "I'm more worried about where the migrants are going to go, how we're going to pay for them, how we're going to get homeless off the streets, how we're going to get people with mental health issues the help that they need. I'm focused on the here and now."

Co-host Brian Brenberg added that while "these rail systems [are] to get people in New York City, half a million people left New York since April 2020."

"The problem here isn't getting people into the city. It's finding a way to keep them from leaving the city. And again, that's not rail. That's the issue he's ignoring 30 blocks north."

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The Hudson Tunnel grant is part of funds allocated for infrastructure projects across the nation by Biden's $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure act.

"This law is the most significant investment in rail. The most significant investment in rail since we created Amtrak over 50 years ago. And billions, billions are going to projects along the Northeast corridor, including replacing the existing Hudson Tunnel," President Biden said Tuesday. 

While the president celebrated the infrastructure project, the city is still grappling with numerous crises including immigration and crime.

"He's talking about a rail tunnel. Until I feel safe riding the existing subway system that we have, I don't want to talk about building new systems. We've got a crime problem here as well," DeAngelis noted about the city's crime.

"He's ignoring what's actually happening and impacting the people that live in this city at the moment," DeAngelis said.

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While the president celebrated the new infrastructure moves, Biden also took to social media where he boasted a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicle purchases. The President was seen inside a Hummer EV in his post, a vehicle that does not qualify for the tax credit. 

"All of this put together says to me, President Biden, you need a reality check," DeAngelis said.

Despite the social media post, co-host Taylor Riggs pointed out the infrastructure Biden should be discussing is that pertaining to electric vehicles. 

"I think a great infrastructure plan would be to do honestly similar to what Elon Musk at Tesla has done, roll out national charging stations that if you want to buy, maybe you have a place to charge it," she said. 

Brenberg responded to Riggs, emphasizing that the infrastructure needed for a transition to electric vehicles would require lots of innovation and the use of material which the Biden administration is trying to reduce.

"If you're going to talk infrastructure in EVs, you got to talk about the fact that these EVs all require rare earth metals that we are we seem to be very predisposed to not allow mining of in America," he said. 

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"Minnesota was the latest state to see a copper-nickel mine rejected. This money is going straight to China. Lithium miners in China have seen profits rise by 300 to 1000% this past year. So the president's talking EVs. He's talking infrastructure right now. That's just a funnel to China. I don't think that's what we should be doing at this moment."

Though the infrastructure to support it may be lacking, the Biden administration is still calling for a clean and quick transition to electric vehicles amid its infrastructure push. The question remains whether aspects like the power grid will live up to Biden's timeline. 

"I don't really think that that's the intention of the whole push towards being EV," DeAngelis said. "But because we're pushing without being ready, that is the collateral damage."

Fox News' Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.