President Joe Biden called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Kamala Harris at a press conference Wednesday without being briefed on a spat between them over hurricane recovery. A person familiar with the matter said that he praised him for being “courteous.” .
NBC News first reported Monday that DeSantis refused to take Harris’ calls when she reached out about Hurricane Helen’s impact on Florida. DeSantis accused Harris of trying to “politicize the storm.” Harris criticized him, calling him “totally irresponsible” and “selfish.” The fight made headlines for several days.
Biden gave a widely televised address Wednesday to warn the nation about the potentially devastating effects of Hurricane Milton, which began pounding Florida’s coastline Wednesday night.
The reporter then asked Biden whether DeSantis should take Harris’ call. He praised DeSantis and declined to answer questions directly.
“All I can say is that I spoke with Governor DeSantis, and he was very gracious,” Biden said. “He appreciated everything we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”
In his remarks Wednesday, Biden emphasized the danger Milton posed to Florida.
“Milton is a Category 3 with wind speeds up to 190 miles per hour,” he said. “But no one should be confused. It is still expected to be one of the most severe and most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in 100 years.”
Biden also condemned those who spread misinformation and conspiracy theories about Hurricane Helen, specifically calling out former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s comments about DeSantis differed from the way Harris characterized him.
“A moment of crisis should be a moment when whoever calls themselves a leader declares that they are going to put politics aside and put the people first,” Harris said Monday. “People desperately need help right now. Taking advantage of this moment of crisis for political maneuvering is the height of the emergency and completely irresponsible and selfish.”
Biden’s failure to include an answer about her was not intended as a jab at Harris. Harris endorsed him as the Democratic nominee to replace her when she stepped down from the top job on July 21. Mr. Biden was not briefed. A person familiar with the situation said the dynamic involving Harris and DeSantis.
“Mr. Biden was not tracking specific interactions,” the official said, adding that Mr. Biden was “focused on the response itself.” This person was granted anonymity to speak freely about this issue.
DeSantis criticized Harris on Fox News this week, accusing her of trying to inject politics into the economic recovery.
“I’ve been through storms under both President Trump and President Biden, and I’ve worked well with both,” he said. “She’s the first to try to politicize the storm, and she’s just doing it for her own campaign. She doesn’t have time for political games.”
