In light of the overnight pummeling Florida took from Hurricane Milton, it is especially important to point out how egregiously despicable Vice President Kamala Harris' politicization of this storm and the aftermath of Hurricane Helene's hit on the Sunshine State actually was.
It all started after NBC News broke an anonymously sourced story Monday claiming without evidence that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis "refused" to take the Democrat presidential nominee's call after Helene hit the state two weeks ago.
Unsurprisingly, the "news" was used to try and make DeSantis look like he was "playing politics" instead of huddling with an allegedly concerned VP. When asked about it, Harris predictably took the bait, proclaiming that "... playing political games with this moment in these crisis situations, these are the height of emergency situations, it's just utterly irresponsible and it is selfish."
In response, DeSantis indicated he wasn't aware she had even called. Later, he minced no words whatsoever, correctly pointing out that Harris "has no role" in storm prep/relief efforts and has never called him before or after a storm... until now, when she is of course running for president.
READ MORE-->> Don't Bring a Catfight to a Cat5: DeSantis Tells Harris to 'Look in the Mirror' Over Hurricane Critique
In other words, it was Harris who was playing politics during this crisis in an effort to bolster her (non-existent) leadership creds ahead of the election, while DeSantis was doing what actual leaders do in preparing his state and keeping its residents informed ahead of Milton's anticipated landfall.
This is something that was inadvertently confirmed by the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore, who was doing his usual "in the thick of things" reporting on Milton's arrival Wednesday night when he was asked about post-storm relief and FEMA being "stretched thin":
"What you can count on here is the state of Florida. DeSantis and [Florida's Division of Emergency Management director Kevin] Guthrie are a well-oiled machine. They've got so much in line here, and Kevin said it earlier on, I want you as my state to prepare for seven landfalls this year. [...] Having that kind of forethought and getting, you know, 50,000 utility trucks on standby, having gas reserves and things like that. Because now, you've gotta get people back in here eventually."
Watch:
.@JimCantore was asked how someone can survive after a hurricane because “relief may be slow to get to you,” and “FEMA is stretched thin.”
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) October 10, 2024
Cantore: “What you can count on here is the state of Florida. DeSantis and Guthrie are a well-oiled machine…” pic.twitter.com/2XoyKmxbnF
As we've said here many times before, true leaders lead while pretenders flounder and flail. I think we know which one is which between DeSantis and Harris in this scenario. I mean, whose characterization of DeSantis should we trust here - the legendary weather dude's or Harris'? The answer, in my view, is crystal clear.
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