Battenfeld: Hurricane Ian puts national spotlight again on Ron DeSantis
They make an odd political couple, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Biden have been forced by Hurricane Ian to work together and avoid politicizing their response to the deadly natural disaster.
DeSantis and Biden, potential 2024 rivals, have carefully walked a tightrope since Ian cut a swath of devastation through the state of Florida, setting aside their gaping political differences.
The Republican governor, just weeks after drawing national attention for arranging planeloads of Texas migrants to fly to Martha’s Vineyard, knows the country is watching his response to the storm, waiting for a gaffe or a political outburst. One false step would bring a torrent of criticism from the liberal media and Democrats.
There hasn’t been one yet. The Florida governor can’t afford to play politics and possibly jeopardize his 2024 presidential hopes.
“We live in a very politicized time, but you know, when people are fighting for their lives, when their whole livelihood is at stake, when they’ve lost everything, if you can’t put politics aside for that, you’re just not going to be able to do so,” DeSantis said in an appearance on Fox News.
Would former President Donald Trump have ever have been capable of saying that? Probably not.
DeSantis toured the wreckage from Ian on Friday, in a press conference carried live on cable networks. He is trying to be level-headed, saying he has spoken with Biden more than once and the president on Thursday steered more federal money to the state by declaring parts of Florida a major disaster.
“At the end of the day, I view this as something that you’ve got folks that are in need, and local, federal and state, we have a need to work together,” DeSantis said at one of his many press availabilities.
Democrats have been pointing out that when he was a congressman, DeSantis voted against federal relief for New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, saying he was being hypocritical by now accepting aid from the federal government.
But DeSantis has not taken the bait, and made a point of saying he was in contact with Biden. Biden even said he would meet with DeSantis “if he wants” to meet.
DeSantis’ response is a stark difference to the way his new Republican rival, the former president, handled natural disasters. Trump was often criticized for his handling of hurricanes like the one that pounded Puerto Rico during his White House tenure.
DeSantis, who is now feuding with Trump as he plans his own presidential run in two years, doesn’t want to get trapped into being another Trump.
The Florida governor, who is up for re-election this November, has become the Democrats’ number one target since he began stepping up his 2024 machine.
Besides his moves to put a spotlight on illegal immigration, DeSantis has fought federal mask mandates due to COVID-19 and kept the state open against federal health guidelines.
And just a few months ago, DeSantis drew more national attention by picking a fight with Disney over the media giant’s opposition to the new state law critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”
These hot-button issues have made DeSantis a star in conservative Republican circles and put him on a collision course with Trump.
And now after Ian blasted Florida, the stakes are even higher for DeSantis.
