ABC News has reported that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida refused to take a call with Kamala Harris.
The call from Harris comes as Hurricane Milton is set to land in Sunshine State this week.
Originally, Hurricane Milton was categorized as a Category 2 Hurricane, but it has since turned into a Category 5.
In response to DeSantis not picking up the phone, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “If you have the president and you have the vice president reaching out to offer up assistance provided to your constituents, the people who live in your state, to make sure we are doing everything that we need to do from federal response.”
“And we’re reaching out, offering our support, that’s where … it is up to [DeSantis] if he wants to respond to us or not,” added KJP.
In response to the ABC report, DeSantis said he never received a call from Kamala.
'YOUR PUBLICATION WILL TWIST ANYTHING THAT'S DONE […] THAT'S HOW YOU GET YOUR CLICKS!': Gov. Ron DeSantis spats with reporter after being questioned about Kamala Harris phone call and "politics"
"Some of these questions are just trying to create some sort of political angle."… pic.twitter.com/rRKBGMX4Eg
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 7, 2024
Just moments ago, Gov DeSantis refused to take a call from Kamala Harris
Obviously, seeing the response from FEMA and Kamala in North Carolina DeSantis doesn't have time for Kamala to try and play politics with Hurricane Milton
Prayers for Florida 🙏
pic.twitter.com/OFExFWfWaU pic.twitter.com/alhGOwhKOU— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) October 7, 2024
Here’s what ABC News reported:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to take a call with Vice President Kamala Harris about Hurricane Milton, a source close to the governor told ABC News.
The DeSantis team believes the call from the vice president is politically motivated, according to the source, and is thus refusing to take the call.
DeSantis staffers also said the governor has not spoken to President Joe Biden in at least the last few days in the wake of Hurricane Helene and as the massive Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida.
“If you have the president and you have the vice president reaching out to offer up assistance provided to your constituents, the people who live in your state, to make sure we are doing everything that we need to do from federal response — and we’re reaching out, offering our support, that’s where … it is up to [DeSantis] if he wants to respond to us or not,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday afternoon.
Despite the lack of communication between them, Jean-Pierre said the administration is still working with state and local officials to make sure that teams are pre-positioned ahead of Milton’s landfall.
DeSantis just said he was not aware of a phone call from Kamala Harris. Reports have circulated he essentially refused to take it.
Turns out, preparing for a disaster is busy work.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 7, 2024
Per MSN:
Florida governor Ron DeSantis reportedly refused to take a call from vice president Kamala Harris about disaster recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the latest sign of a tense partisan atmosphere derailing the response to the catastrophic storm.
“Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn’t answer,” a DeSantis aide told NBC News, adding that the calls “seemed political.”
ADVERTISEMENTWhen asked about the situation on Monday, the White House pushed the spotlight back on DeSantis.
“The governor, it’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday.
DeSantis has said he missed a call about the storm from President Biden because he was on a flight at the time. The Republican also declined to take part in Biden’s visit last week to Florida, a repeat of when he didn’t accompany the president to visit Florida’s Big Bend region last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.
ABC lied and said Kamala called DeSantis regarding the hurricane and that he didn't answer.
DeSantis said in a press conference today that he never got a phone call from her.
— Texas Patriot (@Texasbrn) October 7, 2024
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