President Joe Biden spoke with the governor of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, about emergency measures to face the arrival of Hurricane Milton this week, after it was reported that the Florida chief executive had refused to answer the Democratic president. .
The White House reported in a statement that Biden spoke with DeSantis “to obtain a first-hand report” on the recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene, which has left 230 dead in the southeastern United States, and to discuss preparations. for Hurricane Milton.
As explained by White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, DeSantis spoke only with the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Deanne Criswell, on Sunday.
The NBC network reported that in the last few hours, citing sources close to DeSantis, the governor had refused to answer Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
It is common for the US president to telephone the governors of states affected by natural disasters to coordinate the provision of aid.
At the White House press conference, Jean-Pierre defended that the Executive is fulfilling its obligation to help Americans who have been affected by Hurricane Helene and who are now preparing for Milton.
“If you have the president and the vice president trying to offer assistance to your constituents, to the people who live in your state, to make sure that we are doing everything we need to do and we are reaching out, offering our support, it is up to the governor to decide whether respond or not,” he said.
Biden traveled to Florida on Thursday to monitor the damage caused by Helene and did not meet with DeSantis because he was planning to travel to other parts of the state to see the damage caused by the hurricane, the White House indicated at the time.
At a press conference in Florida, DeSantis confirmed at midday Monday that he had not spoken by phone with either Biden or Harris.
He explained that Biden tried to contact him a couple of days ago, but that he could not take the call because he was in a helicopter. Regarding Harris, he claimed to be unaware of any attempt at communication by the vice president.
“I didn’t know she had called, so I’m not sure who they called, but they didn’t contact me,” said DeSantis, who, however, stressed that he has received all the help requested from the federal government.
DeSantis is one of the most prominent figures in the Republican Party. For years he was a faithful ally of former President Donald Trump, who will face Harris in the elections on November 5, although the relationship soured when the governor competed in the party primaries that the former president ended up winning.
Trump himself has spread disinformation about the federal government’s response to the hurricanes. Last week he even stated that the Executive was not responding to the destruction and that the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, was trying to call Biden on the phone and could not speak with him.
The Republican Party’s Kemp himself immediately denied that this was true and, in fact, praised the federal government’s offer of aid.
For her part, Harris was forceful on Monday when referring to the incident with the governor of Florida.
In statements to the media at Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, near Washington, he considered that in times of crisis like the current one, it is “when those who call themselves leaders must put politics aside and put people first.”
“People desperately need support right now, and playing political games during crisis situations, at the height of emergencies, is totally irresponsible and selfish. It is only about political advantages,” said the vice president.
In addition to speaking with DeSantis, Biden spoke separately with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor about measures taken by the city, which is expected to be one of the areas most impacted by Hurricane Milton.
The president asked the governor and the mayor to “call him directly if there is anything that can be done” to continue supporting the response and recovery efforts.
Florida, still trying to recover from the damage from Helene, is preparing for the largest evacuation since 2017 due to the threat of Hurricane Milton that will cross almost the entire state from west to east starting Wednesday.
Keep reading:
- Mayor of Tampa to residents in evacuation zones due to Hurricane Milton: if you don’t evacuate, you are going to die
- Hurricane Milton downgrades to Category 4, but remains an “extremely serious threat” to Florida
- They declare a state of emergency in Miami-Dade before the arrival of Hurricane Milton