Vice President Kamala Harris took goal at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday for reportedly not taking her calls relating to federal storm aid efforts as a second highly effective hurricane bears down on Florida.
“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations…is just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish,” Harris charged on Monday. “It is about political gamesmanship, instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first.”
The vp’s feedback got here a few hours after experiences from NBC and later ABC Information that the Florida governor was not taking calls from Harris relating to storm restoration efforts, citing unnamed aides to the governor who mentioned the calls appeared political in nature.
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at LaGuardia Airport, Monday Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photograph/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photograph/Jacquelyn Martin)
Requested about ther experiences at a hurricane information convention, DeSantis mentioned he wasn’t conscious Harris was making an attempt to succeed in him.
“I didn’t know that she had called. I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me,” he mentioned. “It wasn’t anything that anybody in my office did, in terms of saying it was political.”
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Requested once more concerning the report, the governor reiterated “I didn’t know that she had called.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a number of storm preparation information conferences on Oct. 7, 2024 as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida (Workplace of Florida governor)
The dispute comes as Hurricane Milton, now a particularly harmful Class 5 storm, is on target to slam into Florida Wednesday night.
Milton is bearing down on Florida because the demise toll rises and roughly 1 / 4 of one million folks stay with out energy or working water per week and a half after Hurricane Helen tore a path of destruction by way of Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, and elements of Virginia.
President Biden made stops final week within the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida to survey storm harm from Hurricane Helene. Whereas Biden was in Florida, DeSantis was holding a separate press occasion throughout the state in one other space broken from the storm.
President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg Worldwide Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey harm from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photograph/Susan Walsh) (AP)
“We were in Florida, we invited the governor of Florida to come, it was his decision not to attend,” White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned Monday. “The president has reached out around Hurricane Helene. He reached out. It is up to the governor, it is really up to the governor.”
The White Home mentioned hours later that the president held separate calls with DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor “to get a firsthand report on recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, and to discuss preparations for Hurricane Milton.”
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In line with the White Home, Biden urged the governor and the mayor to “call him directly if there is anything that can be done to further support the response and recovery efforts.”
Requested concerning the federal response, DeSantis mentioned throughout his information convention that “we have gotten what we need from the feds….the president has approved what we asked for….I’m thankful for that.”
“Everything we’ve asked for from President Biden, he’s approved,” DeSantis highlighted.
With 4 weeks to go till Election Day in November and Harris and former President Trump locked in a bitter margin-of-error showdown within the race to succeed Biden within the White Home, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the many seven key battlegrounds that may possible decide the result of the 2024 election – the politics of federal catastrophe aid are as soon as once more entrance and middle on the marketing campaign path.
Trump, for per week and a half, has been repeatedly attacking Biden and Harris over the federal response to Hurricane Helene. Harris, on Monday, clapped again, accusing Trump of pushing “a lot of mis and disinformation.”
Fox Information Nick Rojas contributed to this story.
