Florida Governor Ron DeSantis refused to take calls from Vice President Kamala Harris after Hurricane Helene. “Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn’t answer,” a Desantis spokesperson told NBC News, thought the calls “seemed political.”
When asked about these claims during a press conference focused on the recovery efforts from Hurricane Milton, DeSantis stated, “I didn’t know she called me. … I was not aware of that.”
NBC News first further cited a source who claimed that any communication between President Joe Biden and DeSantis was “not to my knowledge.”
During the press conference, DeSantis stated, “The president has approved what we asked for. We’re thankful for that. If there’s something we need that they don’t approve, I will not hesitate to call him. … But everything we’ve asked for, from President Biden, he has approved.”
The Hill reported that President Biden had held separate calls with both Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “The governor, it’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not,” White House Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told CNN.
Harris called DeSantis ‘selfish’, Florida Gov fires back
{{/usCountry}}The Hill reported that President Biden had held separate calls with both Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “The governor, it’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not,” White House Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told CNN.
Harris called DeSantis ‘selfish’, Florida Gov fires back
{{/usCountry}}When Vice President Harris was asked about DeSantis reportedly declining her calls, she criticized the Florida governor for playing “political games” during such a crucial time.
“Playing political games with this moment, in these crisis situation[s], these are the height of emergency situation[s], [is] utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first,” Harris lambasted Florida Governor during a Monday interview.
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DeSantis ramps up the beef while talking with Fox News. “For Kamala Harris to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish is delusional,” he said.
“She has no role in this. In fact, she’s been vice president now for three and a half years—I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts. What I think is selfish is her trying to blunder into this.”