By Kamala Harris was called out by Ron DeSantis for trying to politicize the oncoming Hurricane Milton that could hit Florida as early as Wednesday. Yesterday evening, NBC News wrote that “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not taking calls from Vice President Kamala Harris about storm recovery just over a week after Hurricane Helene hammered parts of his state.
A source familiar with the situation said he was dodging the Democratic presidential nominee’s calls because they ‘seemed political,’ according to a DeSantis aide.
‘Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn’t answer,’ the DeSantis aide told NBC News.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, DeSantis denied that he refused to take Harris’ call.
‘I didn’t know that she had called,” he said. ‘I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me. Their characterization of it was something that they did. It wasn’t anything that anybody in my office did, in terms of saying it was political.'”
Harris immediately tried to double down on the report, using it to attack DeSantis and portray herself as leading.
This seems odd coming after DeSantis straight-up denied the report, decried anybody trying to kick up political news cycles out of hurricane coverage, and repeated that the federal government had been responsive to all Florida’s requests. Wish Harris had taken the same tack. https://t.co/EKTIGQHV2k
— Andrew Egger (@EggerDC) October 7, 2024
It was a bad move. Harris’ only looked more foolish an hour or so later, however, when President Biden backed DeSantis over her, praising his work to prepare for Milton, wrote CNN.
The White House said that Ron DeSantis and Joe Biden spoke Monday night following reports that the Republican governor of Florida had refused calls from the president and Vice President Kamala Harris as officials continue hurricane recovery efforts and prepare for another to make landfall later this week.
Senior assistant White House press secretary Emilie Simons said Monday in a post on X that “Tonight, @POTUS spoke with @GovRonDeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to get a report on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene and preparations for Hurricane Milton,” which is forecast to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
“He asked both to call him directly if anything can be done to further support response and recovery efforts,” Simons added.
DeSantis told reporters Monday that he had not been aware of the vice president’s reach outs, claiming at a press briefing in Tallahassee, “I didn’t know she called me.”
The governor said he was thankful to Biden for approving everything they needed thus far, adding that if they need additional help, he “will not hesitate” to give him a call.
Holy crap, Joe Biden just said Ron DeSantis has his direct number, is doing a great job on hurricane response, directly undercutting Kamala. Biden hates her. Not hiding it now: pic.twitter.com/Bm95Nh75Iq
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 8, 2024
Later that evening, DeSantis said he didn’t know why the vice president would call during a moment of crisis that calls for the president, not the backup quarterback. He said that he was focused on protecting his people, not helping her campaign.
🚨WOW: Gov. DeSantis NUKES Kamala after she FREAKED today & attacked him for ignoring her phone calls:
“She’s delusional. She has no role here. She’s been VP for 3 years and never contributed anything to these storm efforts. She politicizing the storm to save a failing campaign” pic.twitter.com/GZQ5gGSThI
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 8, 2024
When asked about the federal response to the storm, Governor Ron DeSantis stated during a Monday news conference, “We have gotten what we need from the feds. The president has approved everything we asked for, and I’m thankful for that.”
DeSantis emphasized his appreciation, saying, “Everything we’ve asked for from President Biden, he’s approved.”
He reiterated these remarks in an interview on Tuesday morning with Fox and Friends, saying, “Every request we’ve made has been answered. I’ve been in contact with the president and the FEMA director, and all of our requests have been fulfilled.”
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