Hurricane Milton prep sparks political tensions between DeSantis and Harris

Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald on Oct 9, 2024

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Even before Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday afternoon, tensions were already brewing between political leaders who presumably will be working together to help people recover after the storm.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Kamala Harris, on behalf of the Biden administration, both say they are focused on making sure government aid reaches people impacted by the Category 4 storm, which brought small scattered tornadoes in parts of South Florida hours before making landfall.

But media interviews are foreshadowing a possible post-storm dust-up between the two.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday evening, DeSantis said the vice president “has no role” in the storm recovery process and accused her of trying to “politicize the storm” to benefit her presidential campaign ahead of the November election. DeSantis says he is in touch with President Joe Biden and FEMA.

“She’s trying to get some type of an edge,” DeSantis said. “She knows she’s doing poorly so she’s playing these political games.”

DeSantis’ comments were in response to a clip Fox News showed in which Harris was asked about reporting that DeSantis was not taking her calls as the state prepared for Hurricane Milton.

In that clip, Harris said it was “utterly irreconcilable” and “selfish” to play political games in times of crisis.

Harris reiterated that sentiment in an interview with The Weather Channel on Wednesday afternoon after a reporter asked her to respond to DeSantis accusing her of politicizing the storm.

“This is not a time for us to point fingers at each other as Americans,” Harris told the reporter. “It’s really not.”

Harris said she and all political leaders should be focused on working together and “giving people a sense of confidence” that government officials will be able to work efficiently on their behalf in times of need.

‘That is what I am focused on and I welcome anyone to work with me,” Harris said. “I don’t care who you voted for in the last election or who you are going to vote for in the next election.”

On Wednesday evening, Biden was asked what he made of DeSantis not taking Harris’ calls amid the storm.

He did not answer the question, but he said: “All I can tell you is that I am talking to DeSantis. He has been very gracious. He has thanked me for all that we have done. He knows what we are doing. And I think that is important.”

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