A frustrated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris this week after she criticized his handling of hurricanes Helene and Milton while also claiming he refused to take her phone call.
On Thursday, DeSantis spoke to CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin about the situation, during which he ripped Harris for what he perceived as a blatant attempt to politicize the storms and boost her campaign.
“I didn’t even know she was trying to reach me, but she has no role in this process, and I’ve been dealing with these storms in Florida under both Trump and Biden. Neither of them ever politicized it,” he said. “And, in fact, all the storms I’ve dealt with under this administration – although I’ve worked well with [President Biden] – she has never called in Florida. She has never offered any support.”
“So, what she’s doing is she’s trying to inject herself into this because of her political campaign,” he continued, noting he’s busy trying to save lives. “I don’t have time for those games.”
“I’m in contact with the president of the United States. I’m in contact with the FEMA director, I’m obviously managing all of our state agencies, we’re supporting all our local government,” DeSantis earlier told a news conference.
“She’s the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm, and she’s doing that just because of her campaign. I don’t have time for political games. I’ve got people whose lives are on the line, I’ve got people whose homes and possessions are on the line, and we are focused 100% on that mission,” he added.
Biden threw his vice president under a bus — figuratively speaking — during a press conference on Thursday as Hurricane Milton bore down on Florida, the second major storm in as many weeks after Harris was critical of DeSantis. Biden praised the Republican leader and said he was doing a “great job” preparing for Milton.
“The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he’s gotten all that he needs. I talked to him again yesterday and I said, ‘No, you’re doing a great job. It’s being, all being done well. We thank you for it,’” said Biden.
“Every governor, every governor from Florida to North Carolina has been fully cooperative and supportive and acknowledged what this team is doing. And they’re doing an incredible job. We’ve got a lot more to do,” Biden noted further.
During an interview on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, the Florida governor further addressed Harris’ accusations against him for “not putting politics aside” and “playing political games with this moment in these crisis situations.”
“She should look in the mirror. We have been on an emergency footing for two weeks straight, around the clock, 24/7. We have been working. My office, our division of emergency management, is helping people prepare for Hurricane Helene and helping effectuate rescues of people after Hurricane Helene,” DeSantis said.
“Helping people pick up the pieces of their lives after Helene and then have to also turn around and prepare for major impacts and maybe even more impacts from Hurricane Milton, be able to have rescue personnel ready to help people and then, of course, help with the power restoration, all these things to do. So that’s been my sole focus,” DeSantis continued.
“My focus has not been on dealing with Kamala Harris. I saw the news report, I didn’t know she tried to contact me. But I would also say it’s not about you, Kamala it’s about the people of Florida. My focus is where it should be. I can tell you this I have worked on hurricanes under President Trump and President Biden. Neither of them ever tried to politicize it,” he said.
