It’s about the money in the end…..
Even for a Republican Florida Governor running for Prersident…..
Last guy who went thru this after a Hurricane lost his chance ….
Hurricane-ravaged Fort Myers on Wednesday served as the scene of a brief pause in hostilities between Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden, two political foes now working “hand-in-glove” to rebuild a decimated region.
“Mr. President, welcome to Florida. We appreciate working together across various levels of government,” DeSantis said, introducing Biden for remarks.
Biden responded: “Gov and first lady, thank you very much for the hospitality.”
The exchange could only exist in the wake of a natural disaster that requires an enormous bipartisan response. DeSantis has been one of Biden’s fiercest critics as he builds a potential 2024 White House bid. The two have sparred on Covid response, support for the LGBTQ community and, most recently, DeSantis tapping into a $12 million program to fly mostly Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.
Biden previously called the transports “reckless,” echoing Democratic opponents in Florida who have sued to stop the program they say uses vulnerable migrants as 2022 midterm political props.
Hurricane Ian, though, is poised to be one of Florida’s most damaging storms in recent memory. The Category 4 storm slammed into southwest Florida with 150 mile-per-hour winds and 10 foot storm surges that destroyed parts of coastal Lee County, and as of Wednesday night left 89 people dead in multiple counties. That number is expected to grow…
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Biden was profuse in his praise for DeSantis during his remarks after a Wednesday briefing on the storm. The president’s accolades will likely to help insulate DeSantis from critics who have suggested the governor didn’t do enough to warn residents ahead of the hurricane. Some have pointed to DeSantis’ administration timing and messaging surrounding evacuations ahead of the storm as a potential misstep that could have left people in harm’s way. The New York Times reported that Lee County officials did not follow their own evacuation guidelines, though they have since defended their performance, and DeSantis has publicly supported the local officials.
“I think he’s done a good job,” Biden said on Wednesday when asked about DeSantis’ performance in dealing with the storm. “We have very different political philosophies, but we’ve worked hand-in-glove. In dealing with this crisis, we’ve been in complete lockstep.”…