As Florida braces for Hurricane Ian, Biden spoke with Mayor Jane Castor of Tampa, Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg, and Mayor Frank Hibbard of Clearwater, but not Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
During a press conference later in the day, DeSantis addressed the lack of direct communication from the White House, noting that while he has gotten the necessary support from FEMA, he has not heard from Joe Biden.
“So I have not personally spoken with the president, but FEMA has approved our pre-landfall request,” DeSantis said in response to a question about his communication with Biden.
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“We feel like we have a good relationship with FEMA,” he continued. “You know, I’m happy to brief the president if he’s interested in hearing what we’re doing in Florida, you know, my view on all this is like you got people’s lives at stake, you got their property at stake, and we don’t have time for pettiness. We got to work together to make sure we’re doing the best job for them.”
“So, my phone — my phone line is open,” DeSantis added. “But we are — we do appreciate the quick approval of the pre-landfall declaration.”
"I’m happy to brief the President if he’s interested in hearing what we’re doing in Florida… You've got people’s lives at stake…no time for pettiness, we've gotta work together to make sure we’re doing the best job for them. So my phone line is open." @RonDeSantisFL on Biden pic.twitter.com/d2FkngDq5J
— DeSantis War Room 🐳 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 27, 2022
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