Biden Gets Offered A Perfect Chance To Defend Kamala Harris, But Praises DeSantis Instead
President Joe Biden dodged an opportunity to defend Vice President Kamala Harris Wednesday when asked about her back and forth with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over hurricane recovery efforts.
Harris complained earlier on Wednesday that the response to Hurricane Milton was becoming political just days she criticized DeSantis for not taking her phone calls on the matter. Biden was asked if DeSantis should be taking his vice president’s phone calls, but declined to answer, instead talking about the “gracious” conversations he has had with the governor.
“Mr. President, does Gov. DeSantis need to take Vice President Harris’s calls?” RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Phil Wegmann asked.
“All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we are doing, and I think that’s important,” the president answered before leaving the room.
It wasn’t the first time this week Biden and Harris have diverged on DeSantis. After Harris accused DeSantis Monday of playing politics during the hurricane response, Biden counter-signaled his vice president, posting on Twitter that he had spoken to the Florida governor about such efforts. DeSantis responded to the Harris comments, calling them “political games” and implying that such a call may be a campaign stunt.
Tonight, I spoke with Florida Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Castor for firsthand reports on Hurricane Helene recovery and preparations for Hurricane Milton.
My Administration is ready to support both leaders and the people of Florida with any further resources they may need. pic.twitter.com/imXXVXQnoD
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 8, 2024
“She has never called on any of the storms we have had since she has been vice president until apparently now. Why all the sudden is she trying to parachute in and inject herself when she has never shown any interest in the past? We know it’s because of politics. We know it’s because of her campaign,” DeSantis said in a Tuesday Fox and Friends interview.
“I have zero time to entertain these political games,” he added.
Today I joined Fox and Friends to discuss Hurricane Milton. pic.twitter.com/tB46doJfWt
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 8, 2024
Since dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Harris, Biden has said he is at peace with his decision, but indicated he was still in denial about why he was pressured off the ticket, adding that he thought he could still beat Trump.
“There was a perception that perhaps your hand was forced and some pointed fingers to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who you have a long relationship with and accomplished many things with. Did you feel that your hand was forced, and what is your relationship with Speaker Pelosi now?” Alyssa Farah asked Biden.
“Our relationship is fine. Look — I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance of my running again. I didn’t sense that. And although the polling, they said Biden’s polling was different, the fact of the matter is, my polling was about, always within range of beating this guy,” the president said.
“What I did was … I think there were — it didn’t make sense. There were some folks who would like to see me step aside, so they had a chance to move on. I get that, that’s just human nature. But that wasn’t the reason I stepped down. I stepped down because I started thinking about it … you know, it’s hard to think, I know you’re only thirty,” the president continued, leaning over to Farah. “But it’s hard to think of, it’s hard for me to even say how old I am.”
AUTHOR
REAGAN REESE
White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.
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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.
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