02 September 2023 , 13:59
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President Joe Biden is due in Florida today to see firsthand the destruction wrought by Hurricane Idalia, but won't be meeting Governor Ron DeSantis in what some are calling a snub.
The president had previously said "yes" to a question of if he would be meeting the Republican governor, currently running to unseat the incumbent president, has been extremely critical of the octogenarian commander-in-chief. DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern confirmed there were "no plans" to meet despite Biden's assurances.
"We don’t have any plans for the governor to meet with the president," Redfern said in a statement. "In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts."
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis holds a press conference after Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, in Perry, Florida (CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In response, the White House said Biden was looking forward to the visit. "President Biden and the first lady look forward to meeting members of the community impacted by Hurricane Idalia and surveying impacts of the storm," White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said.
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At least three people were killed by the Hurricane, which swept through the Big Bend area of Florida earlier this week, before making its way over Georgia and later as a tropical storm over the Carolinas. The howling winds and severe rains caused widespread flooding and damage.
The decision by DeSantis is a break from last year, when Hurricane Ian blasted through the state, causing over 150 direct and indirect deaths. “Their visit to Florida has been planned in close coordination” with Federal Emergency Management personnel “as well as state and local leaders to ensure there is no impact on response operations,” Simons said.
At least three people were killed by Idalia (AP)Biden and DeSantis met when the president toured Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the state last year, and following the Surfside condo collapse in Miami Beach in summer 2021. But DeSantis is now running to unseat Biden, and he only left the Republican presidential primary trail with Idalia barreling toward his state.
“There’s a time and a place to have political season,” the governor said before Idalia made landfall. He had originally suggested that storm deaths and damage would be the priority over partisan differences.
He continued: “But then there’s a time and a place to say that this is something that’s life-threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood.”