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With a second highly effective hurricane in lower than two weeks bearing down on Florida, President Biden on Tuesday canceled an upcoming worldwide journey as a way to oversee federal storm preparations and response efforts.
Because the demise toll rises and almost 200,000 individuals stay with out energy or operating water over every week and a half after Hurricane Helen tore a path of destruction via the southeast United States, Hurricane Milton – a particularly harmful Class 4 storm – is on target to slam into Florida on Wednesday.
“Given the projected trajectory and energy of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is suspending his upcoming journey to Germany and Angola as a way to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, along with the continuing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene throughout the Southeast,” White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.
The president was scheduled to depart for Berlin on Thursday, adopted by a cease in Angola earlier than returning residence on Oct. 15. The journey would have marked Biden’s first cease on the African continent throughout his tenure as president.
EYE OF THE STORM: BACK-TO-BACK HURRICANES IMPACT HARRIS-TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL RACE
President Biden, middle, delivers remarks on the federal authorities’s response to Hurricane Helene and preparations for Hurricane Milton within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photograph/Evan Vucci)
Talking with reporters on Tuesday, the president known as Milton a probably “devastating” storm that might be one of many worst to hit Florida in a century. He additionally urged anybody beneath an evacuation order to “evacuate now, now, now.”
“It’s a matter of life and demise,” Bien emphasised.
Biden additionally mentioned he spoke on Monday with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, including that the conservative governor had been cooperative and that he gave his private cellphone quantity to DeSantis.
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When requested concerning the federal storm response, DeSantis mentioned throughout a information convention on Monday that “now we have gotten what we want from the feds… the president has accredited what we requested for… I’m grateful for that.”
“The whole lot we’ve requested for from President Biden, he’s accredited,” DeSantis highlighted.
The governor reiterated these feedback Tuesday morning in an interview on “Fox and Pals.”
“Each request that we’ve made – I’ve been involved with the president, I’ve been involved with the FEMA director,” DeSantis highlighted. “All of our requests have been answered.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a number of storm preparation information conferences on Oct. 7, 2024 as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida. (Workplace of Florida governor)
Whereas DeSantis has complimented the president’s actions, he has taken purpose at Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democrats’ presidential nominee on Monday – reacting to studies that the governor had refused to take her calls relating to federal storm efforts – described him as “egocentric.”
When requested concerning the dispute, DeSantis argued in his “Fox and Pals” interview that “my focus has not been on coping with Kamala Harris. I noticed the information report. I didn’t know that she tried to contact me. However I’d additionally say it’s not about you, Kamala. It’s concerning the individuals of Florida. My focus is strictly the place it ought to be.”
“I’ve labored on these Hurricanes beneath each President Trump and President Biden. Neither of them ever tried to politicize it. She’s by no means known as on any of the storms we’ve had since she’s been vp till apparently now. Why swiftly is she making an attempt to parachute in and inject herself when she’s by no means proven any curiosity previously? We all know it’s due to politics. We all know it’s due to her marketing campaign. I’ve zero time to entertain these political video games,” DeSantis charged.
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The disagreement gave the impression to be triggered by studies from NBC and later ABC Information on Monday afternoon that the Florida governor was not taking calls from Harris relating to storm restoration efforts, citing unnamed aides to the governor who mentioned the calls appeared political in nature.
When requested a few hours later, DeSantis mentioned he was not conscious Harris was making an attempt to achieve him.
“I didn’t know that she had known as. I’m unsure who they known as. They didn’t name me,” he mentioned. “It wasn’t something that anyone in my workplace did, when it comes to saying it was political.”
Talking across the similar time, as she departed the nation’s capital for New York, the vp took purpose at DeSantis.
“Persons are in determined want of help proper now and enjoying political video games at this second in these disaster conditions…is simply totally irresponsible, and it’s egocentric,” Harris charged. “It’s about political gamesmanship, as a substitute of doing the job that you simply took an oath to do, which is to place the individuals first.”
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at LaGuardia Airport on Monday Oct. 7, 2024 in New York. (AP Photograph/Jacquelyn Martin)
Nevertheless, DeSantis, pushing again in his Fox Information interview, argued that “Harris isn’t even within the chain of command. She has no position on this. The concept that I ought to be…worrying about her after I’m targeted on the duty at hand is sort of frankly absurd.”
When requested if his vp has been useful because the federal authorities offers with back-to-back harmful hurricanes, Biden nodded and instructed reporters “sure.”
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Harris, talking on Tuesday on the favored daytime program “The View,” mentioned “I’ve known as and talked with, in the midst of this disaster, this most up-to-date disaster, with Democrat and Republican governors…. So, clearly, this isn’t a difficulty that’s about partisanship or politics for sure leaders, however possibly it is for others.”
With 4 weeks to go till Election Day in November and Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a bitter margin-of-error showdown within the race to succeed Biden within the White Home, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the many seven key battlegrounds that can possible decide the end result of the 2024 election – the politics of federal catastrophe reduction are as soon as once more entrance and middle on the marketing campaign path.
Trump, for every week and a half, has been repeatedly attacking Biden and Harris over the federal response to Hurricane Helene, and making unproven claims.
On Monday, Harris clapped again, accusing Trump of pushing “loads of mis and disinformation.”
Fox Information’ Nick Rojas contributed to this story.
Get the newest updates from the 2024 marketing campaign path, unique interviews and extra at our Fox Information Digital election hub.
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