Florida Governor Ron DeSantis provided an update to President Joe Biden on the aftermath of Hurricane Milton Thursday morning while taking another swipe at Kamala Harris for her recent criticism of his handling of the crisis.
DeSantis accused Harris of politicizing the situation and claimed she “doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters.”
The governor’s remarks came during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he emphasized that neither former President Donald Trump nor President Biden had ever politicized storm responses during his time in office. “She has no role in this process. And I’ve been dealing with these storms in Florida under both Trump and Biden. Neither of them ever politicized it,” DeSantis said. “She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.”
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Harris had previously criticized DeSantis after reports surfaced that his staff had declined her attempt to contact him following Hurricane Helene’s landfall on September 26.
When questioned about the incident earlier this week, Harris accused DeSantis of playing “political games” during a time of crisis. “People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations…is utterly irresponsible and it is selfish,” Harris told reporters.
DeSantis, however, reiterated that he had no knowledge of Harris’s attempts to reach him and dismissed her comments. “I don’t have time for those games,” he said. “I don’t care about her campaign. Obviously, I’m not a supporter of hers. For her to say that my focus should be on catering to her rather than worrying about my own people just shows she doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters.”
“[Harris] has no role in this process,” says @GovRonDeSantis. “All the storms I’ve dealt with under this administration, she has never called in Florida or offered any support. She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.” pic.twitter.com/V9q4rh9uW9
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 10, 2024
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 3.4 million Floridians remain without power in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key on Wednesday night.
While DeSantis criticized Harris, he and President Biden have maintained a cooperative relationship regarding disaster response.
Biden has praised DeSantis for his efforts in preparing for Milton, calling the governor’s work “great,” and DeSantis has publicly acknowledged the federal assistance provided by the Biden administration.
During their phone call Thursday morning, DeSantis briefed Biden on the ongoing damage assessments across the state.
Biden assured the governor that federal support would continue as needed. The call also included Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell, who has been coordinating the federal response efforts.
“All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Governor DeSantis,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s been very gracious. He thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”
Here is Joe Biden throwing Kamala under the bus when he’s asked directly today if DeSantis should take her call. He hates her. This is two days in a row of insulting her. He never takes questions. He was waiting for this one. Again. pic.twitter.com/skCx8HASH8
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 9, 2024
Last week, Biden toured areas in Florida affected by Hurricane Helene, though he and DeSantis did not meet during the visit.
DeSantis was attending a separate event approximately 300 miles away at the time.
Meanwhile, Harris has also been involved in disaster response efforts, attending a FEMA briefing on Hurricane Milton on Wednesday.
However, her participation raised some eyebrows after a moment during the live broadcast when she appeared distracted and was overheard telling a staff member, “It’s a live broadcast.”
As Florida continues to recover from the back-to-back hurricanes, both state and federal officials are working to ensure that relief efforts reach those in need as quickly as possible.
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