President Biden praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for being “gracious” as he spoke with him about mitigating multiple hurricanes hitting Florida.
There has been an ongoing feud between Vice President Kamala Harris’ team and DeSantis in recent days. NBC News reported Monday that DeSantis has been denying phone calls from Harris’ team, but it seems the governor and the president are on far better terms.
During a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Real Clear Politics reporter Philip Wegmann asked, “Mr. President, does Governor DeSantis need to take Vice President Harris’s calls?”
“All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Governor DeSantis,” Biden answered. “He’s been very gracious. He thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”
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Biden has had multiple phone calls with DeSantis since Hurricane Helene began barreling down on the southeast two weeks ago, followed by Hurricane Milton making landfall late Wednesday, and told both DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to “call him directly” if any further support is needed.
DeSantis, meanwhile, noted Tuesday morning that all his federal requests for more support have been answered.
Harris has accused DeSantis of “playing political games” amid the hurricanes.
“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games with this moment, in these crisis situations, these are the height of emergency situations, it’s just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish,” Harris told reporters Monday.
Biden, by contrast, had instead referred to the Florida governor as “cooperative.”
“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 all being done well and we thank you for it,” Biden said at a press conference from the White House Tuesday. “There was a rough start in some places, but every governor, every governor – from Florida to North Carolina – has been fully cooperative and supportive.”
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NBC News reported late Wednesday, “Biden hadn’t been briefed about the dynamic involving Harris and DeSantis, the person familiar with the situation said.” That source told the outlet that Biden “wasn’t tracking a specific back-and-forth” and was “focused on the response itself.”
After a DeSantis staffer told NBC on Monday that the Florida governor had chosen not to take the vice president’s call, DeSantis later clarified that he was never even aware Harris was trying to contact him. The governor instead argued that Harris was the one engaging in political gamesmanship.
“I’ve worked on these hurricanes under both President Trump and President Biden. Neither of them ever tried to politicize it. She has never called on any of the storms we’ve had since she’s been vice president until apparently now,” DeSantis told “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning following reports of the vice president’s criticism. “Why, all of the sudden, is she trying to parachute in and inject herself when she’s never shown any interest in the past? We know it’s because of politics, we know it’s because of her campaign.”
DeSantis’ office declined to comment to Fox News Digital about Tuesday’s reporting, but pointed to the governor’s comments on both “Fox & Friends” and “Hannity,” respectively.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not receive a response in advance of publication time.
Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
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