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Political moves: GOP Sen. Rick Scott praises Biden for ‘great job’ as DeSantis avoids photo-op

September 4, 2023 | | Print Article

With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis busy managing the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) filled the void and joined President Joe Biden as he visited Florida to survey the damage from the storm — Idalia made landfall early Wednesday along Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage.

Speaking at a press event in Live Oak on Saturday, Scott set aside politics to praise the president for the federal government’s response to the hurricane.

“The President did a great a job with the early declaration before the storm hit the coast,” the Republican senator said. “That was a big deal. It helped all these first responders. And then how fast you approved through FEMA the individual assistance, the public assistance … it was a big people deal. These are not rich communities. Many of them struggle. And so what the federal government’s doing, by FEMA being a great partner, I want to thank you for doing that very quickly.”

The declaration authorized the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), “to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe,” according to the White House.

Many in the media interpreted Scott’s actions as a slight toward DeSantis — the two men have not had the greatest relationship, which was obvious early on during the transition period after DeSantis was elected to succeed Scott as governor. Scott weighed in earlier this year on the governor’s battle with Disney, calling for “cooler heads” to prevail” while noting that he “had a good working relationship with Disney” when he was governor.

DeSantis was roundly criticized for not joining Biden — the 80-year-old commander-in-chief had told reporters that he would be joined by the governor — but spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement that recovery efforts must take priority.

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“In 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,” Redfern said.

Critics suggested that DeSantis was looking to avoid the infamous photo op former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took part in with Barack Obama in 2012 as the former president toured the damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Steering clear of Biden, Gov. DeSantis was on the ground managing the state’s response along with Florida’s first lady Casey DeSantis, to include a visit to Horseshoe Beach to help distribute Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches to local residents:

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Tom Tillison
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