President Joe Biden is heading to Florida on Saturday for a firsthand look at Hurricane Idalia鈥檚 destruction, but he won鈥檛 be seeing the state鈥檚 Republican governor and 2024 presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis, who suggested such a meeting could hinder disaster response efforts.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any plans for the governor to meet with the president,鈥� DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement. 鈥淚n these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts.鈥�
Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida鈥檚 sparsely populated Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to drench Georgia and the Carolinas. But Biden鈥檚 visit to see its effects threatened to be engulfed by political clashes since DeSantis鈥� statement came hours after the president himself earlier Friday that he would be meeting with the governor.
In response to DeSantis eventually preemptively calling off a meeting, White House spokeswoman Emilie Simons said, 鈥淧resident Biden and the first lady look forward to meeting members of the community impacted by Hurricane Idalia and surveying impacts of the storm.鈥�
鈥淭heir visit to Florida has been planned in close coordination鈥� with Federal Emergency Management personnel 鈥渁s well as state and local leaders to ensure there is no impact on response operations,鈥� Simons said in a statement.
After landing at the airport in Gainesville, Biden is set for an aerial tour on his way to Live Oak for an afternoon briefing on response and recovery efforts and a meeting with federal and local officials and first responders. He then plans to see firsthand the storm鈥檚 effect on the community and will make remarks afterward.
The political disconnect between both sides is a break from the recent past, since Biden and DeSantis met when the president toured Florida after hit the state last year, and following the in Miami Beach in summer 2021. But DeSantis is now running to unseat Biden, and he only left the Republican presidential primary trail with Idalia barreling toward his state.
can be tricky, meanwhile.
Another 2024 presidential candidate, former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, has long been widely criticized in GOP circles for embracing then-President Barack Obama during a tour of damage 2012鈥檚 Hurricane Sandy did to his state. Christie was even asked about the incident last month, during the .
Both Biden and DeSantis at first suggested that helping storm victims would outweigh partisan differences. But the governor began suggesting that a presidential trip would complicate response logistics as the week wore on.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a time and a place to have political season,鈥� the governor said before Idalia made landfall. 鈥淏ut then there鈥檚 a time and a place to say that this is something that鈥檚 life threatening, this is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, it could cost them their livelihood.鈥�
By Friday, the governor was telling reporters of Biden, 鈥渙ne thing I did mention to him on the phone鈥� was 鈥渋t would be very disruptive to have the whole security apparatus that goes鈥� with the president 鈥渂ecause there are only so many ways to get into鈥� many of the hardest hit areas.
鈥淲hat we want to do is make sure that the power restoration continues and the relief efforts continue and we don鈥檛 have any interruption in that,鈥� DeSantis said.
Biden joked while delivering pizzas to workers at FEMA鈥檚 Washington headquarters on Thursday that he鈥檇 spoken to DeSantis so frequently about Idalia that 鈥渢here should be a direct dial鈥� between the pair. Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall pointed to the experiences after Ian and Surfside collapse in saying earlier this week that Biden and DeSantis 鈥渁re very collegial when we have the work to do together of helping Americans in need, citizens of Florida in need.鈥�
The post-Idalia political consequences are high for both men.
As Biden seeks reelection, the White House has asked for to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress. That would bring the total to $16 billion and highlight that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes have intensified during a period of climate change, imposing ever higher costs on U.S. taxpayers.
DeSantis has built his White House bid around dismantling what he calls Democrats鈥� . The governor also frequently draws applause at GOP rallies by declaring that it鈥檚 time to send 鈥淛oe Biden back to his basement,鈥� a reference to the Democrat鈥檚 Delaware home, where during the early lockdowns of the .
But four months before the first ballots are to be cast in Iowa鈥檚 caucuses, DeSantis still lags far behind , the Republican primary鈥檚 dominant early front-runner. And he has cycled through repeated campaign leadership shakeups and reboots of his image in an attempt to refocus his message.
The super PAC supporting DeSantis鈥� candidacy also has halted its door-knocking operations in Nevada, which votes third on the Republican presidential primary calendar, and several states holding Super Tuesday primaries in March 鈥� a further sign of trouble.
Will Weissert, The Associated Press
