The White House has not yet made plans for President Joe Biden to visit Florida or Puerto Rico to survey the deadly destruction caused by Hurricanes Ian and Fiona.
As of Friday, the two storms have killed dozens of Floridians and Puerto Ricans and left millions without water or electricity. Ian made landfall on the South Carolina coast again Friday morning.
BIDEN SAYS HE’S SPOKEN WITH DESANTIS FOUR OR FIVE TIMES COORDINATING IAN RESPONSE
Biden told Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on Thursday that he wanted to visit both areas “when the conditions allow it,” but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday that she did not have anything to “announce” heading into the weekend after facing multiple questions on the topic.
In dealing with the storm, Biden has been forced to work in conjunction with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful who has frustrated the White House with a series of “political stunts” involving apprehended immigrants in recent weeks.
“I want to be very clear about this. This is not about politics, right? This is about the people of Florida and what they need,” Jean-Pierre responded when asked Friday if Biden wanted to meet with DeSantis in person. “When we saw Surfside — the horrible, catastrophic building falling in Surfside and killing so many Floridians not too long ago, over a year ago, you saw Gov. DeSantis and you saw this president sit side by side, talking about how they were going to work together to make sure that that community got everything that they need. So this is not about politics.”
“I don’t have anything to share about a trip that the president is going to be making. He spoke for himself yesterday,” she said. “This is something that he wants to do when it’s appropriate in Florida. He does want to also go to Puerto Rico, and once we have an announcement to make, we surely will make that announcement.”
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You can watch Friday’s briefing in full below.
