Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday criticized Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for not responding to requests for federal storm relief efforts as the state faces a second powerful hurricane.
“People desperately need help right now, and playing politics at this moment of crisis is completely irresponsible and self-serving,” Harris said Monday. “This is about political gamesmanship, not doing the job we are sworn to do to put the people first.”
The vice president’s comments came hours after NBC and later ABC News reported that the Florida governor had not answered calls from Harris about storm recovery efforts, citing anonymous aides to the governor. was quoted as saying that the phone call was political in nature.
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Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Monday, October 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin) (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Asked about the report at a Hurricanes news conference, DeSantis said he had no knowledge that Harris was trying to contact him.
“I didn’t know she called. I don’t know who she called. They didn’t call me,” he said. “It’s not something that anyone in my office did in terms of it being political.”
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Asked again about the report, the governor reiterated, “I didn’t know that she called.”
As Hurricane Milton hits Florida, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holds multiple press conferences to prepare for the storm on October 7, 2024 (Florida Governor’s Office)
The controversy comes as Hurricane Milton, now a Category 5 extremely dangerous storm, is heading toward Florida on Wednesday night.
Hurricane Helen hits parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
President Biden made stops in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida last week to assess storm damage from Hurricane Helen. While Biden was in Florida, DeSantis was holding another news conference in another storm-hit area of the state.
President Joe Biden and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criss arrive at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, South Carolina, to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Helen on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. Talk with Mr. Well. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP)
“We were in Florida and invited the governor of Florida to come, and it was his decision not to attend,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “The president reached out regarding Hurricane Helen. He reached out. It’s up to the governor, it’s really up to the governor.”
Hours later, the White House said the president spoke separately by phone with DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor “to receive first-hand updates on Hurricane Helen recovery efforts and to discuss Hurricane Milton preparedness.” Announced.
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Biden asked governors and mayors to “call them directly if there is anything they can do to further support response and recovery efforts,” the White House said.
Asked about the federal government’s response at a news conference, DeSantis said, “We got what we needed from the federal government…The president approved what we asked for…and we’re grateful for that.” .
“Everything we asked of President Biden, he approved,” DeSantis said.
With just four weeks left until November’s election day, Harris and former President Trump face off in a race to succeed Biden in the White House, and in a tight margin-of-margin showdown between Helen and the two hardest-hit northern states. are involved. Of the seven major battleground states likely to decide the outcome of the 2024 election, the politics of federal disaster relief are once again front and center in campaigns in the Carolinas and Georgia.
President Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden and Harris over the past week and a half over the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helen. Harris fired back Monday with applause, accusing Trump of pushing “a lot of misinformation and disinformation.”
Fox News Nick Rojas contributed to this article.
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Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter based in New Hampshire.
