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From the New York Post: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis briefed President Biden on the fallout from Hurricane Milton Thursday morning while hammering Vice President Kamala Harris once again over her swipe at him for not taking her call earlier this week.
The Sunshine State governor chided that Harris “doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters,” and again accused her of politicizing the crisis.
“She has no role in this process. And I’ve been dealing with these storms in Florida under both [former President Donald] Trump and [President] Biden. Neither of them ever politicized it,” DeSantis told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” hours after Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
“In fact [during] all of the storms I dealt with under this administration, although I worked well with the president, she has never called … She has never offered any support,” the Republican emphasized. “She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.”
DeSantis noted that he’s been busy nonstop over the past two weeks, dealing with first Helene, and now Milton, and has been in touch with Joe Biden as well as the director of FEMA.
“They put out a story saying… I didn’t even know she was trying to reach me… but she has no role in this process,” he said.
“I don’t have time for those games,” DeSantis declared. “I don’t care about her campaign… obviously I’m not a supporter of hers. But she has no role in this process.”
“For her to say that my focus should be on catering to her rather than worrying about my own people just shows she doesn’t understand what it means to respond to these natural disasters,” he added.
“[Harris] has no role in this process,” says @GovRonDeSantis. “All the storms I’ve dealt with under this administration, she has never called in Florida or offered any support. She’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign.” pic.twitter.com/V9q4rh9uW9
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 10, 2024
A reporter prodded Joe Biden at a press briefing yesterday, asking, “Does Gov. DeSantis need to take Harris’ calls?”
Biden responded, “All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing and I think that’s important.”
Pres. Biden asked by a reporter if Gov. DeSantis needs to take VP Harris’ calls on hurricanes.
Biden: “All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing and I think that’s important.” pic.twitter.com/khWYmqgAwI
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 9, 2024
NBC News then attempted to stir up the controversy further, writing in a report Wednesday night (during the time Hurricane Milton was slamming into Florida), “Biden didn’t know Ron DeSantis had refused to take Harris’ call when he praised him as ‘gracious’.”
“President Joe Biden hadn’t been briefed about a back-and-forth between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Kamala Harris over hurricane recovery before he praised him as “gracious” in a news conference Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation said,” the NBC report snidely claimed.
New: A source familiar with the dynamic says Biden didn’t know Ron DeSantis refused to take Kamala Harris’ call when he praised him as ‘gracious’ https://t.co/kXSP5NNxMs
— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) October 10, 2024
NBC News had first reported on the alleged controversy, citing a “source familiar with the situation.” NBC claimed that a DeSantis aide said, “Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn’t answer.”
That started the entire controversy, as the media then asked Harris about it and she attacked DeSantis. However, Harris has never actually said SHE tried to call DeSantis, and he insists HE never knew anything about it.
But reporters continue to pour fuel on the fire.
“I didn’t know that she had called,” DeSantis said. “I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me.”
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