DeSantis has received favorable coverage for his response to Hurricane Idalia, which tore through Florida on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the White House released a readout of President Biden’s call with the governor, in which he told DeSantis that he “signed a Major Disaster Declaration and ordered all available federal resources to help with the continued response to Tropical Storm Idalia.
The President reiterated that the people of Florida have his full support as they recover from the storm.”Biden even offered praise for DeSantis on Wednesday.“I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help. And I trust him to be able to suggest that this is not about politics, this is about taking care of the people of the state,” Biden said.
DeSantis was later asked about Biden’s remarks and noted that the two were putting first response over politics.
“We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harm’s way or have difficulties,” DeSantis said. “And that has got to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning.”
While DeSantis has been focused on recovery efforts in Florida, his Republican primary rivals have been visiting early primary states and taking swipes at each other in the media.
And while DeSantis is literally doing the job he was elected to do in Florida, the storm has presented him with an opportunity.
DeSantis is running for an executive position, the presidency, and currently holds an executive position as Florida governor. With local, state and national media attention on the storm and its aftermath, DeSantis can give voters a look at his executive leadership style and how he would respond in a crisis.
And this isn’t the first time DeSantis has done this during an election. Last year, DeSantis was widely praised for his response to Hurricane Ian. At the time, he was running for reelection against former Gov. Charlie Crist.
DeSantis was widely expected to win his reelection bid, but the response to Ian certainly gave him a boost.
