Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knocked Gov. Ron DeSantis for voting against Hurricane Sandy relief funds when he may pursue congressional aid for Hurricane Ian, a showdown that could be a sneak peek of the 2024 presidential election.
DeSantis, who served in Congress from 2013 to 2018, was one of the Republicans who voted against a relief package for Hurricane Sandy victims, something Christie fumed over during his time as New Jersey governor after his state was ravaged by the storm. DeSantis has already requested and received federal resources to the Sunshine State from the Biden administration, though it’s unclear whether he will ask for a congressional aid package for Hurricane Ian, the storm that recently decimated Florida.
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“I remember at the time his argument was, ‘I won’t vote for this because they’re not paid for,’” Christie said, the New York Times reported. “I think those are symbolic votes and they feel like they can get away with those votes.”
DeSantis asked President Joe Biden for an emergency declaration that freed up federal funds and resources to help Florida address fallout from the storm. Biden quickly granted the governor’s request. The Florida governor has also suggested that additional federal funding may be needed to aid Florida’s recovery.
Christie pondered whether DeSantis will take the same stance now in seeking a relief package for the victims of Hurricane Ian. The New Jersey Republican surmised the Florida governor likely wouldn’t issue the same demand.
“I trust as governor that he’ll act like a governor and not like a congressman,” Christie added. “As a congressperson, you can sit down in Washington and make symbolic votes. … When you’re governor, you have to look eye to eye to the people who have lost everything.”
The Garden State politician has left the door open to jumping in the 2024 fray and said he was pondering it.
“I’d like to see what happens in the midterms,” Christie said during a recent appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher. “You know, all I heard in 2016 was that we’re going to do so much winning that we’re going to be tired of winning and we’re going to ask him not to win anymore.”
DeSantis has consistently polled as the top Republican contender to be the party standard-bearer besides former President Donald Trump.
Host Bill Maher noted similarities between Christie’s stewardship over the Hurricane Sandy fallout and DeSantis’s management of the Hurricane Ian situation. In both cases, the Republican governors were forced to navigate a prickly political situation with a Democratic president before an election.
“The analogies here are a little bit misplaced too. This is five weeks away from a midterm election, where DeSantis looks he’s going to win and Biden’s not even on the ballot,” Christie said. “When Obama came, it was six days before the presidential election.”
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At one point, Maher told Christie that DeSantis is “definitely going to the candidate,” before conditioning that Republicans would first have to move on from Trump, who has told New York magazine his mind is already made up on 2024.
DeSantis is vying for a second term as governor and is favored to prevail over Democrat Charlie Crist, according to forecasters.
