US President Joe Biden visited Florida on Saturday to meet those affected by Hurricane Idalia, which killed at least one person and caused damage to several cities in the state, but he did not meet Governor Ron DeSantis, one of his main political rivals.
Biden and his wife, Jill, headed to Suwanee County in northwest Florida, where he was greeted by the mayor of Live Oak, the county’s main city.
“I am here to deliver a simple message to the people of Florida and the entire Southeast. I said this to the governor: If your state needs anything, I am ready to mobilize the necessary help,” Biden said in a press conference.
Biden was scheduled to meet DeSantis during the visit, as announced Friday. Given that the two men are candidates for the 2024 presidential elections, it was expected that the meeting would be very politically charged.
In response to a question on Saturday morning about the reason for canceling the meeting, Biden said: “I don’t know.” “I have been in regular contact with Governor DeSantis since the beginning of the hurricane,” he said.
In October 2022, the Republican governor and the Democratic president had met in similar circumstances, when Biden visited Florida after Hurricane Ian, which left nearly 150 dead.
Hurricane Idalia caused high water levels and widespread flooding in Florida, and continued its destructive path to the southeastern coast of the United States as a tropical storm.
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2023-09-02 21:42:28
