President Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Florida on Saturday to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia and to evaluate the state, local, and federal response to the disaster. The couple began their visit with an aerial tour of the storm-affected areas before heading to Live Oak, Florida. In Live Oak, they received a briefing on the response and recovery efforts and met with first responders, federal personnel, and local officials. President Biden also toured the damage on the ground in Live Oak.
During his visit, President Biden expressed his intention to meet with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. However, Governor DeSantis’ spokesperson, Jeremy Redfern, stated that there were no plans for a meeting between the two. Governor DeSantis had earlier voiced concerns about the president’s “security apparatus” being disruptive to recovery efforts and power restoration in the hardest-hit areas that were difficult to access.
The White House spokesperson, Emilie Simons, released a statement on Friday night indicating that President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were looking forward to meeting members of the community impacted by Hurricane Idalia and surveying the storm’s impacts. However, the statement did not specifically mention Governor DeSantis. Simons assured that the visit to Florida had been planned in coordination with FEMA, state, and local leaders to ensure no impact on response operations.
Residents of the Big Bend region of Florida are currently dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, a Category 3 storm that caused flooding and extensive damage to homes and businesses. President Biden approved Governor DeSantis’ request for a major disaster declaration for Florida and promised that the state would receive whatever assistance it needed. He reiterated this commitment during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, stating that the nation had Florida’s back and would not abandon or slow down in providing support.
Power outages continue to affect various counties in Florida, including Taylor, Madison, Lafayette, Hamilton, Suwannee, Jefferson, and Dixie. Governor DeSantis reported on Friday that power had been restored to hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings, but some areas were still experiencing outages.
The aftermath of Hurricane Idalia has brought about a moment of bipartisanship between President Biden and Governor DeSantis. Despite being from different political parties, the president stated that he did not sense any politics or political motivation in his conversations with the governor. This visit to Florida marks President Biden’s second trip in two weeks to a state devastated by a natural disaster, following his visit to Maui, which is still recovering from wildfires and working on rebuilding its infrastructure.
Throughout his visits to disaster-stricken areas, President Biden has emphasized the need to rebuild a more resilient American infrastructure, acknowledging the impact of the climate crisis. This viewpoint has caused some contention between President Biden and Governor DeSantis, who supports improving infrastructure against major storms but does not attribute their impact to climate change.
In conclusion, President Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Florida to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia and evaluate the response efforts. They met with first responders, federal personnel, and local officials to discuss the ongoing recovery and restoration process. The president also expressed his intention to meet with Governor DeSantis, although no official meeting was scheduled. The visit highlighted the need for resilient infrastructure in the face of climate-related disasters and showcased a moment of bipartisan cooperation between the president and the governor.
Original Story at www.cbsnews.com – 2023-09-02 13:36:12
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