Every day this week there has been something new in the news about the thinly-sourced NBC News story on how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis allegedly refused to take Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ phone call in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
As we’ve reported, DeSantis responded to the claim during a press briefing by stating he “didn’t know that she had called” and that he was “not sure who they called but they didn’t call me.” He also denied any type of “political” response had come from his office.
When another reporter tried to play politics at the briefing, DeSantis shut them down with his usual no-nonsense style, saying now was not the time to play political games while noting the news organization in question would spin his answer no matter how he phrased it.
READ MORE: Ron DeSantis Responds Accordingly After Reporter Plays Politics During Hurricane Milton Briefing
A war of words quickly ensued after the story broke, with Harris despicably declaring DeSantis was being “selfish” by not taking her call and DeSantis nuking her by pointing out that she had never called him during or after a hurricane before now and that she has absolutely no role in disaster prep.
What’s been especially fascinating to watch is how Joe Biden has reacted to the press continuing to try to pull him into this. Instead of giving his veep an assist, he has repeatedly praised DeSantis and has talked about how they’ve been in contact, with Biden publicly assuring DeSantis he’d give him whatever he needed for relief efforts for Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
On Wednesday, hours before Milton was expected to make landfall in the Sunshine State as a monster storm, Biden was point-blank asked about the Harris/DeSantis nontroversy and whether DeSantis should be taking her calls. Here’s how the exchange went down:
PHIL WEGMANN, REALCLEARPOLITICS: Mr. President does Gov. DeSantis need to take Vice President Harris’s calls?
PRESIDENT BIDEN: All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we are doing, and I think that’s important.
Watch:
.@PhilipWegmann on Hurricane #Milton: “Mr. President, does Governor DeSantis need to take Vice President Harris’s calls?”
Biden: “All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Governor DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing and —… pic.twitter.com/vORstA1omG
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 9, 2024
Now that might seem like a pretty milquetoast answer to some. But between that and the other statements Biden’s given about his interactions with DeSantis as these storms have unfolded, we’ve seen a striking difference in how Biden as president has handled the attempted politicization of natural disasters versus his second in command.
Biden has had opportunities on multiple occasions to slam DeSantis on the issue of taking calls from the Biden-Harris White House related to storm prep/relief efforts, but he hasn’t. And it’s probably because, despite their political differences, he’s worked with him enough when these issues roll around that he’s aware DeSantis has operations under control and knows exactly what he’s doing.
On the flip side, you have Kamala Harris, who is not president but wants to be. What does she do when asked about that NBC News report? Instead of saying, “Understandably, the governor is busy preparing for a devastating storm, he has the White House’s number if he needs us,” she takes the bait, acting as though DeSantis should have taken her alleged call even though she knows he’s already dialed in to the people he needs to be when these storms arise.
Say what you want about Biden, but he’s the one being presidential here, refusing to play the games and understanding the moment and the danger Florida is in right now. Kamala Harris? She’s desperate to move the needle, so she attacks the sitting governor of a state that is expected to have catastrophic damage for the second time in a little over two weeks.
If Kamala Harris wanted to prove she’s unfit for office, what would she be doing differently right now? Think about it.
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