- President Joe Biden met FL Gov. Ron DeSantis was present to evaluate the state’s damage after Hurricane Ian.
- They pledged to help Floridians get back on their feet and put aside political differences.
- Biden said that climate change recognition was the “biggest thing DeSantis did.”
President Joe Biden met with Florida Governor. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden met Wednesday in Fort Meyers to assess the extent of the damage. Hurricane IanThis latest death toll saw more than 70 deaths. It devastated entire communities and required a large-scale ongoing search-andrescue operation.
The two political adversaries shook hands and shared cordial handshakes during the visit. They pledged to help Floridians rebuild from the damage that was done by Biden, who said it would take years.
Biden said that while we may have very different political ideologies, we have always worked hand-in-glove.” He spoke to reporters on Wednesday at a press conference. “We have been in complete sync when dealing with this crises.”
Their rivalry was only briefly visible during the visit. Biden poked fun at DeSantis and said that DeSantis did something “remarkable”, by acknowledging that climate change is real. This was contrary to some GOP support for the climate crisis.
“The Governor’s biggest accomplishment is… [is]Biden acknowledged that there is a phenomenon called global warming.” “The world is changing.”
—The Recount (@therecount) October 5, 2022
It is unclear when DeSantis publicly attributed Hurricane Ian to climate changes. However, the Florida governor was careful not to use the phrase. He said it often “A pretext to do lots of left-wing stuff.” In August, DeSantis also prohibited the consideration of climate changeWhen making investment decisions in the pension fund of the state.
Insider was told by Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for DeSantis that he wasn’t certain which comment Biden was referring to. Redfern pointed to a governor’s statement that mentioned Resilient Florida, a state program that has allowed residents to improve infrastructure. It may have helped protect communities from severe damage from hurricanes. However, the spokesperson stated it wasn’t about global warming.
DeSantis gave praise to the Biden administration in his Wednesday remarks, but he quickly took aim at politics by pointing out limitations of government assistance as well as praising the flexibility and availability of private aid.
The Florida governor stated that FEMA can provide assistance and that FEMA is grateful to all state agencies for their assistance. However, FEMA’s assistance is based on law and regulation, and some people may not fit in those slots.
“Well, we now have mobilized private charities with a lot of money — and growing — to be able to help people in really tough circumstances,” DeSantis added, thanking local and state agencies, as well as the Biden administration, for the “team effort.”
Biden spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request of comment.
Biden stated that search-and-rescue teams have rescued more people than 3,800 people and knocked on 70,000 doors so far. Lee County has more than 24,000 structures that have been inspected, and there are about 4,000 personnel who work on the ground.
About 310,000 homes and businesses were still without power Wednesday, one week after Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s west side. According to Reuters.
The White House approved Wednesday Florida’s request. Federal assistance extended for debris removal and emergency protective actions.
Biden stated that “Today, there is only one job and that job is to ensure that Floridaans get all they need to fully, completely recover.”
