WASHINGTON — President Biden stated Tuesday that Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has been “cooperative” with him as Hurricane Milton nears the Sunshine State — at some point after Vice President Kamala Harris complained that DeSantis didn’t take her name.
“The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He stated he’s gotten all that he wants. I talked to him once more yesterday,” Biden stated on the White Home earlier than heading to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania to marketing campaign for Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).
“I actually gave him my private telephone quantity to name,” Biden added of DeSantis. “So I don’t know — there was a tough begin in some locations, however each governor, each governor from Florida to North Carolina, has been totally cooperative and supportive and acknowledged what this group is doing.”
Biden warned that Milton “may very well be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century” — because the Class 4 hurricane traverses the Gulf of Mexico and is on monitor for landfall close to Tampa Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.
Harris, 59, attacked DeSantis on Monday, accusing him of being “completely irresponsible” and “egocentric” in not taking her name final week within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida Sept. 26.
“Moments of disaster, if nothing else, ought to actually be the second that anybody who calls themselves a pacesetter says they’re going to place politics apart and put the folks first,” Harris stated of DeSantis.
“Persons are in determined want of assist proper now and enjoying political video games with this second in these disaster conditions — these are the peak of emergency conditions — is completely irresponsible and it’s egocentric and it’s about political gamesmanship as an alternative of doing the job that you just took an oath to do, which is to place the folks first.”
DeSantis returned fireplace — saying that he believed Harris solely tried to name him to inject herself into the disaster lower than a month earlier than Election Day.
“My focus has not been coping with Kamala Harris,” DeSantis instructed “Fox & Mates” Tuesday morning.
“I noticed the information report — I didn’t know she tried to contact me. However I’d additionally say, ‘It’s not about you, Kamala, it’s in regards to the folks of Florida.’ My focus is strictly the place it must be,” DeSantis stated.
“I’ve labored on these hurricanes underneath each President Trump and President Biden. Neither of them ever tried to politicize it. She has by no means known as on any of the storms we’ve had since she’s been vice chairman till apparently now.
“Why the entire sudden is she making an attempt to parachute in and inject herself when she’s by no means proven any curiosity previously? We all know it’s due to politics, we all know it’s due to her marketing campaign. I’ve zero time to entertain these political video games. We’re going to proceed to do what we have to do to organize and reply to what could also be one of the crucial damaging storms within the historical past of the USA,” DeSantis went on.
“Harris is just not even within the chain of command. She has no position on this. The concept I must be, like, worrying about her once I’m centered on the duty at hand is simply fairly frankly absurd.”
DeSantis added that federal officers to date have offered all assist wanted forward of the storm — after widespread criticism of the dearth of preliminary preparedness for Helene’s harm to western North Carolina.
“All of our requests have been answered,” the governor stated. “We’ve marshaled all state sources which are out there to us. It’s going to be a really strong response, nevertheless it’s going to be numerous harm and we’re bracing for that.”
