The president’s trip to see the damage from Hurricane Idalia in Florida becomes another wedge issue in the 2024 race.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions, said the president told DeSantis about his visit early on Thursday. The governor did not express any concerns at that time, the official said.During a visit to Fort Myers Beach, Fla., in October, Biden met with DeSantis and praised his stewardship in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Biden has often used natural disasters to showcase his presidency as competent and empathetic. He has also tried to showcase bipartisanship.Trump, by contrast, at times became critical of the states that were seeking help after catastrophes — oftentimes in areas that did not support him in the 2016 election. In 2019, for example, he threatened to cut off federal aid to California as it dealt with wildfires, accusing Gov. Gavin Newsom of mismanagement.
But at the same time, Biden has not shied away from linking extreme weather events to climate change, an approach that is at odds with the stances of many of the Republican officials he meets with. He did the same during his visit to Live Oak on Saturday, while standing in front of a house where a large tree had been felled by the hurricane.
Previous interactions between governors and presidents from opposing parties have sometimes been used in partisan attacks against the politicians involved.Former Florida governor Charlie Crist, who ran as a Democrat against DeSantis in last year’s gubernatorial race, was driven from the Republican Party not long after he welcomed President Barack Obama to the state and accepted emergency aid from the federal stimulus package in 2009.
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