DeSantis, Kemp skip presidential visit as Biden flies over site of Helene’s landfall
President Joe Biden visited Florida and Georgia on Thursday to survey damage to the states caused by Hurricane Helene last week — but their two Republican governors, Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp, were not around to greet him.
The president was on a two-day tour of Southeastern states ravaged by the storm, which took at least 200 lives as it ripped through the region. Hundreds more remain missing as emergency response personnel search across the devastated mountainous region for survivors.
After visiting North Carolina on Wednesday, Biden landed in Tallahassee Thursday morning, where he was greeted by Mayor John Dailey and other local officials. He then took a helicopter tour over the area blasted by Helene. Aboard Marine One, the president flew toward Florida’s coast and briefly over the Gulf of Mexico before touring flooded coastal areas for roughly 45 minutes on his way to Perry, where the storm made landfall.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida participated in a meeting with Biden in Keaton Beach, taking part in briefing the president on Helene’s impact on the state and walking him through FEMA maps of the region, before Biden took a brief walking tour of the area.
Speaking with one couple that had lost their home, and whose temporary motor home was parked just in the distance, the president was told, “this can all be rebuilt.” Biden consoled others as he surveyed the beachside catastrophe.
Afterward, Biden flew to a pecan farm outside of Valdosta, Georgia. The president addressed the emergency response in front of a downed tree, characterizing Helene as “one of the strongest hurricanes ever, ever, to hit Florida and this part of Georgia.”
“I promise you, we have your back. We’re going to stay until you’re restored,” Biden said. “In moments like this, it’s time to put politics aside.”
The president offered thanks to Georgia’s governor, Kemp, who spoke with him by phone on Thursday morning. But he did not offer a similar overture to DeSantis.
“Our job is to help as many people as we can,” he added. “I hope we begin to break down this rabid partisanship that exists. I mean that sincerely. There’s no rationale for it — no rationale for it.”
The White House said DeSantis was invited to join the president during his visit, but declined. Instead, DeSantis held another hurricane-related press event in the Tampa Bay area at roughly the same time.
The Florida governor told reporters that there was no particular reason why he was not with Biden in Tallahassee.
“No,” DeSantis said. “We had this [event] planned.”
READ MORE: In visit to Athens, VP Harris says feds will reimburse emergency costs related to Helene
The disconnect between DeSantis and president is a departure from their collaboration in 2022, when Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida and brought the two men together to survey the storm damage. DeSantis also said he had missed a call from Biden after the storm hit, and gave no indication he tried to call him back.
DeSantis and his administration have said that Florida has what it needs from the federal government to respond to the disaster caused by Helene, which has claimed the lives of at least 15 Floridians. Thousands remain without power in the Big Bend region nearly a week after the storm hit.
By contrast, Kemp has been in direct touch with Biden since the storm passed and has praised the federal response.
“He just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’” Kemp told reporters earlier in the week of a previous call with the president. “I told him, ‘You know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process.’ He offered that if there’s other things we need, just to call him directly, which, I appreciate that.”
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau staff writers Alexandra Glorioso and Lawrence Mower contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 1:13 PM.
