President Joe Biden is heading to Florida on Saturday for a firsthand look at Hurricane Idalia91裸聊视频檚 destruction, but he won91裸聊视频檛 be seeing the state91裸聊视频檚 Republican governor and 2024 presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis, who suggested such a meeting could hinder disaster response efforts.
91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 have any plans for the governor to meet with the president,91裸聊视频� DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement. 91裸聊视频淚n these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts.91裸聊视频�
Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida91裸聊视频檚 sparsely populated Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to drench Georgia and the Carolinas. But Biden91裸聊视频檚 visit to see its effects threatened to be engulfed by political clashes since DeSantis91裸聊视频� statement came hours after the president himself earlier Friday that he would be meeting with the governor.
In response to DeSantis eventually preemptively calling off a meeting, White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said, 91裸聊视频淧resident Biden and the first lady look forward to meeting members of the community impacted by Hurricane Idalia and surveying impacts of the storm.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭heir visit to Florida has been planned in close coordination91裸聊视频� with Federal Emergency Management personnel 91裸聊视频渁s well as state and local leaders to ensure there is no impact on response operations,91裸聊视频� Simons said in a statement.
After landing at the airport in Gainesville, Biden is set for an aerial tour on his way to Live Oak for an afternoon briefing on response and recovery efforts and a meeting with federal and local officials and first responders. He then plans to see firsthand the storm91裸聊视频檚 effect on the community and will make remarks afterward.
The political disconnect between both sides is a break from the recent past, since Biden and DeSantis met when the president toured Florida after hit the state last year, and following the in Miami Beach in summer 2021. But DeSantis is now running to unseat Biden, and he only left the Republican presidential primary trail with Idalia barreling toward his state.
can be tricky, meanwhile.
Another 2024 presidential candidate, former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has long been widely criticized in GOP circles for embracing then-President Barack Obama during a tour of damage 201291裸聊视频檚 Hurricane Sandy did to his state. Christie was even asked about the incident last month, during the .
Both Biden and DeSantis at first suggested that helping storm victims would outweigh partisan differences. But the governor began suggesting that a presidential trip would complicate response logistics as the week wore on.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a time and a place to have political season,91裸聊视频� the governor said before Idalia made landfall. 91裸聊视频淏ut then there91裸聊视频檚 a time and a place to say that this is something that91裸聊视频檚 life threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood.91裸聊视频�
By Friday, the governor was telling reporters of Biden, 91裸聊视频渙ne thing I did mention to him on the phone91裸聊视频� was 91裸聊视频渋t would be very disruptive to have the whole security apparatus that goes91裸聊视频� with the president 91裸聊视频渂ecause there are only so many ways to get into91裸聊视频� many of the hardest hit areas.
91裸聊视频淲hat we want to do is make sure that the power restoration continues and the relief efforts continue and we don91裸聊视频檛 have any interruption in that,91裸聊视频� DeSantis said.
Biden joked while delivering pizzas to workers at FEMA91裸聊视频檚 Washington headquarters on Thursday that he91裸聊视频檇 spoken to DeSantis so frequently about Idalia that 91裸聊视频渢here should be a direct dial91裸聊视频� between the pair. Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall pointed to the experiences after Ian and Surfside collapse in saying earlier this week that Biden and DeSantis 91裸聊视频渁re very collegial when we have the work to do together of helping Americans in need, citizens of Florida in need.91裸聊视频�
The post-Idalia political consequences are high for both men.
As Biden seeks reelection, the White House has asked for to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress. That would bring the total to $16 billion and highlight that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes have intensified during a period of climate change, imposing ever higher costs on U.S. taxpayers.
DeSantis has built his White House bid around dismantling what he calls Democrats91裸聊视频� . The governor also frequently draws applause at GOP rallies by declaring that it91裸聊视频檚 time to send 91裸聊视频淛oe Biden back to his basement,91裸聊视频� a reference to the Democrat91裸聊视频檚 Delaware home, where during the early lockdowns of the .
But four months before the first ballots are to be cast in Iowa91裸聊视频檚 caucuses, DeSantis still lags far behind , the Republican primary91裸聊视频檚 dominant early front-runner. And he has cycled through repeated campaign leadership shakeups and reboots of his image in an attempt to refocus his message.
The super PAC supporting DeSantis91裸聊视频� candidacy also has halted its door-knocking operations in Nevada, which votes third on the Republican presidential primary calendar, and several states holding Super Tuesday primaries in March 91裸聊视频� a further sign of trouble.
Will Weissert, The Associated Press
