Florida Gov. and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis handed out Chik-Fil-A to Hurricane Idalia survivors while visiting his wife, Casey, as the couple stayed away from President Joe Biden during their own tour of the state on Saturday.
Biden and his wife, Jill, took an aerial flight over the devastated coast en route to Live Oak, where he landed to receive a briefing from local officials on relief and recovery efforts – and later walked the city streets to join Senator Rick Scott to meet the residents.
But DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, refused to attend Biden’s visit, saying a meeting could hamper disaster relief efforts – and then held a separate, simultaneous tour of devastated Keaton Beach, a coastal town about 50 miles from Live Oak.
It is the second post-disaster embarrassment for Biden in as many weeks after he was criticized for being too late in assessing the terrible damage caused by the Maui wildfires.
The Florida governor specifically criticized Biden at campaign rallies and at the first Republican presidential debate, saying he was “at the beach” vacationing while the Hawaiian island suffered.
Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis handed out Chick-Fil-A to Hurricane Idalia survivors, clearly staying away from President Joe Biden
Casey DeSantis, Florida’s first lady, headed to Horseshoe Beach, where the state’s first married couple handed out chicken sandwiches before visiting first responders
Biden and his wife, Jill, took an aerial tour of the devastated coast en route to Live Oak, where he landed to receive a briefing from local officials on relief and recovery efforts and later walked the city streets with Sen. Rick Scott to meet the residents
The Bidens departed from Gainesville Regional Airport on Air Force One at the end of the day
DeSantis and his wife also headed to Horseshoe Beach, where the state’s first married couple handed out chicken sandwiches before visiting first responders.
“God bless our amazing military, first responders and volunteers who worked tirelessly to help Floridians through Hurricane Idalia – @GovRonDeSantis and I greatly appreciate your service, thank you!” Casey tweeted on Saturday.
On Friday, hours after Biden initially announced he would meet with DeSantis, the governor’s office issued a statement contradicting him and saying there were no plans for such a meeting.
The political separation is a clear break with the recent past. Biden and DeSantis met as the president toured Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the state just last year and after the Surfside condo collapse in Miami Beach in the summer of 2021.
“In these rural communities and so soon after the impact, the security preparations required to organize such a meeting alone would undermine ongoing recovery efforts,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement.
Deanne Criswell, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told reporters as the president flew down from Washington: “Our teams worked together to find this area. “Because of the limited impact, this was a mutually agreed upon area.”
She insisted her teams “have not heard any concerns about any impact on the communities we will be visiting today.”
Criswell said aboard the flight that power was being restored and all roads were open in the area where Biden was flying.
DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, refused to attend Biden’s visit, saying a meeting could hamper disaster relief efforts
DeSantis then held a separate, simultaneous tour of devastated Keaton Beach, a coastal town about 50 miles from Live Oak
On Friday, hours after Biden initially announced he would meet with DeSantis, the governor’s office issued a statement contradicting him and saying there were no plans for such a meeting
Biden stands with First Lady Jill Biden (left), Senator Rick Scott (second from right) and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell (right) during a briefing at Suwannee Pineview Elementary School on Saturday
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One for departure at Gainesville Regional Airport
“Access will not be impeded,” she said, adding that her team had been “closely coordinated” with the governor’s staff.
In an olive branch across the aisle, Florida’s Republican junior U.S. Sen. Rick Scott joined Biden in Live Oak to meet with first responders.
In response to DeSantis’ no-show, Biden said, “No, I’m not disappointed.” He may have had other reasons for it, but he helped us plan. “He sat with FEMA and decided where we should go where there would be the least disruption.”
He then praised Senator Scott for demonstrating bipartisanship.
“And I’m very pleased.” The guy we strongly disagree with, the distinguished former governor and senior senator that he spoke to me and all of you about, told me and all of you how incredible, what the federal government has done an incredible job. And I found that reassuring.”
Mayor Frank Davis, his wife Amanda Davis and Suwannee County Executive Franklin White also welcomed Biden to Live Oak. Biden departed on Air Force One at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, DeSantis posted photos from his separate tour on
“This will not be an easy recovery, but local officials are working nonstop to get this community back on its feet.” “We will be there to provide support,” he added.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden speak with a woman during their tour of the storm destruction caused by Hurricane Idalia in Live Oak, Florida
Biden greets first responders during a briefing on response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Idalia in Live Oak, Florida
Both Biden and DeSantis initially suggested that support for storm victims would outweigh partisan differences. But as the week progressed, the governor began to suggest that a presidential trip would complicate response logistics.
“There is a time and a place for a political season,” the governor said before Idalia reached land. “But then there is a time and a place where you can say that this is something life-threatening, that this could potentially cost someone their life, it could cost them their livelihood.”
On Friday, the governor told reporters about Biden: “One thing I mentioned to him on the phone” was: “It would be very disruptive to have the entire security apparatus associated with the president because there are only a limited number.” of opportunities.” to get to many of the hardest hit areas.
“We want to ensure that power restoration and relief efforts continue and there is no disruption,” DeSantis said.
Biden joked as he delivered pizza to workers at FEMA headquarters in Washington on Thursday that he had spoken to DeSantis about Idalia so often that “there should be a direct connection between the two.”
Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, citing the experience following the Ian and Surfside collapses, said earlier this week that Biden and DeSantis are “very collegial as we need to do the work together to help Americans in need and Floridians in need.” “
Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning as a Category 3 storm in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north and inundating Georgia and the Carolinas.
The political consequences after Idalia are serious for both men.
Biden will meet with first responders on Saturday in Live Oak, Florida
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell speaks with Joe and Jill Biden and Senator Rick Scott
Joe and Jill Biden greet first responders after a briefing on response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Idalia at Suwannee Pineview Elementary School
President Joe Biden arrives with First Lady Jill Biden aboard Air Force One en route to the devastation of Hurricane Idalia after landing in Gainesville, Florida
As Biden seeks re-election, the White House has asked for an additional $4 billion to address natural disasters as part of its request to Congress for additional funding.
That would bring the total to $16 billion, highlighting that wildfires, floods and hurricanes have increased at a time of climate change, imposing ever-increasing costs on U.S. taxpayers.
DeSantis has built his bid for the White House on dismantling what he calls Democrats’ “woke” policies.
The governor also frequently draws applause at GOP rallies by declaring it’s time to “send Joe Biden back to his basement,” a reference to the Democrat’s home in Delaware, where he spent much of the early lockdowns his time spent coronavirus pandemic.
But four months before the first ballots are cast in Iowa, DeSantis is still far behind former President Donald Trump, the dominant front-runner in the Republican primary.
And in an attempt to refocus his message, he has undergone repeated changes in the leadership of his campaign and an image transformation.
The super PAC backing DeSantis’ candidacy has also halted its door-knocking operations in Nevada, which is voting third on the Republican presidential primary calendar, and in several states that are holding Super Tuesday primaries in March, another sign for problems.