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    • Milton threatens Florida. So why is Harris playing politics?
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    Milton threatens Florida. So why is Harris playing politics?

    Vaseline Posted on

    Florida is about to be hit by its second major hurricane in less than two weeks, and instead of offering to help in any way, Kamala Harris is hurling abuse at Governor Ron DeSantis.

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    Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris just gave us a look at what kind of leader she would be in an emergency.

    And it’s not great.

    Florida is about to be hit by its second major hurricane in two weeks, and instead of offering to help in any way, Harris is throwing it in Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ face.

    DeSantis on Monday called approaching Hurricane Milton a “monster” and is encouraging citizens in its path to evacuate as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, he’s still busy overseeing the cleanup of Hurricane Helene, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 Florida residents.

    In other words, DeSantis is busy and really doesn’t have time to play politics.

    Yet that is exactly what Harris wants to do.

    Harris’ instinct is to scold DeSantis, not offer support

    NBC News reported this week that DeSantis reportedly chose not to take calls from Harris after Hurricane Helene.

    This was Harris’ response Monday when asked about it: “Moments of crisis should really be the moment when anyone who calls themselves a leader says they’re going to put politics aside and put people first. People are in desperate need of support right now and are playing political games with this moment in these crisis situations. These are the height of emergencies, it’s just completely irresponsible and selfish.”

    On the face of it, Harris’ words are fine. In fact, she’s right.

    But given the context, she does the opposite and puts politics before the people of Florida. All she had to say was that she was ready and willing to help in any way she could.

    And Harris couldn’t do that.

    DeSantis denies even knowing she had called. Instead, he has spoken to President Joe Biden and the head of FEMA, the federal agency charged with handling such emergencies.

    In response to Harris’ attack, the governor told Fox News that the vice president “has no role in this” and has not bothered to reach out during previous hurricanes.

    “In fact, she’s been vice president for three and a half years,” DeSantis said. “I have faced a number of storms under this administration. She never contributed anything to these efforts.”

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    DeSantis: ‘I don’t have time for political games’

    He also said he has faced storms under both former President Donald Trump and Biden and has worked well with both.

    “She’s the first person to try to politicize the storm, and she’s only doing that because of her campaign,” DeSantis said. “I don’t have time for political games.”

    If nothing else, Harris owes DeSantis a thank you for his effective management.

    Echoing Helene, Florida’s governor said he had “handled” the situation, and that additional federal aid should be focused on North Carolina, which suffered even worse.

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    Two years ago, after Hurricane Ian’s devastating impact on Florida, DeSantis happily welcomed the president to see the aftermath. Both men – who had previously exchanged many targeted attacks ahead of the midterm elections – were able to put those differences aside and benefit those affected by the hurricane.

    “I think he did a good job,” Biden said at the time. “We have very different political philosophies, but we have worked hand in hand. … We were completely at a loss in dealing with this crisis.”

    This is what leadership looks like in times of crisis.

    And Harris isn’t up to the challenge.

    Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or at X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques.

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