Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, labeling her accusation of “political gamesmanship” as “delusional.” This came after reports surfaced suggesting DeSantis had ignored phone calls from Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, as Florida prepared for the impending Hurricane Milton.
In a Monday evening interview with Fox News, DeSantis emphasized that he was using “all available resources,” including federal support, to ready the state for Hurricane Milton, which was expected to hit land by Wednesday evening. He also mentioned that he had been in contact with both President Joe Biden and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in preparation for the storm.
“And so for Kamala Harris to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish, is delusional,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis further commented that Harris had “no role” in managing the storm response. He remarked that despite her three-and-a-half-year tenure as vice president, she had not been involved in any of the storms he had dealt with during this administration. He added, “She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts, and so what I think is selfish is her trying to blunder into this.”
Earlier on Monday, Harris had been questioned about the reports regarding DeSantis’s refusal to engage with her on hurricane relief efforts.
“People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games at this moment, in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — it’s utterly irreconcilable, 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 told reporters in a segment that Fox News anchor Sean Hannity aired during his Monday night show.
DeSantis countered Harris’s remarks by accusing her of turning the storm into a political issue. He pointed out his positive experiences managing past storms with both Biden and former President Donald Trump, claiming Harris was the only one attempting to politicize the disaster.
“I will say this: I’ve had storms under both President Trump and President Biden, and I’ve worked well with both of them. She’s the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm, and she’s doing that just because of her campaign. She’s trying to get some type of an edge. She knows she’s doing poorly until she’s playing these political games,” he said.
“I don’t have time for political games. I’ve got peoples whose lives are on the line. I’ve got peoples whose homes and their possessions are on the line, and we are focused 100 percent on that mission. I’m not worried about playing her political games. And so she is being selfish by trying to blunder into this, when we’re working just fine,” he continued.
The Hill has reached out to Harris’s campaign for comment on the situation.
Hurricane Milton, predicted to strike Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday evening, is set to be the first direct hit the area has experienced from a hurricane in over 100 years. Authorities have already issued evacuation orders for significant portions of the region, urging residents to follow the guidance of officials without delay.
In response to the storm’s approach, DeSantis announced on Monday that tolls would be suspended to aid in the evacuation process.
{Matzav.com}