Vice President Kamala Harris is making it clear that she’s not here for the unnecessary back-and-forth. Harris addressed reports indicating that Governor Ron DeSantis has refused her calls for assistance just a week after Hurricane Helene devastated the state’s Big Bend region.
On Monday, NBC News reported that DeSantis has not engaged in communication with Harris regarding the necessary recovery strategies for areas hit hard by the hurricane. When approached for a comment while departing from New York at Joint Base Andrews, Harris did not shy away from the issue. She stated that “people were in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations…is just utterly irresponsible.”
Without directly naming Governor DeSantis, Harris condemned his actions by stating, “It is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do.”
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In contrast, DeSantis responded to the unfolding narrative during a press interaction, stating that he was unaware of any attempts made by Harris to reach him. He remarked, “I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me.”
Later, DeSantis appeared on the Fox News program hosted by Sean Hannity. In this interview, he attacked Harris directly, accusing her of not contributing to the recovery efforts that have been carried out under the Biden administration. He said, “I have dealt with several storms under the Biden administration and she’s never contributed to any of these efforts.” DeSantis went on to say, “She has no role in this…She’s the first one who is trying to politicize the storm. And she’s doing that just because of her campaign.”
President Biden has since signed a disaster declaration Monday for Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches its coast.
Milton will be arriving to Florida Wednesday as well as Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, are still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene. That stormed killed more than 200 people after hitting the United States a little more than one week ago.
Local officials have issued a mandatory evacuation as many have stated that this is not “survivable.”