Biden, DeSantis keep their distance during president’s Florida visit

President Biden and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) kept their distance from one another on Saturday when the president traveled to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Idalia.

The two were expected to meet on the ground after DeSantis had met with Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell earlier this week. But, DeSantis’ office on Friday said the governor didn’t have plans to meet with Biden, saying having the two meeting up could put strain on the state’s disaster response.

DeSantis, who is seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is one of Biden’s top political rivals. Biden announced he was traveling to Florida on Thursday and called DeSantis ahead of the announcement. He also had spoken to the governor every day this week in preparation for and during the storm.

Biden and DeSantis’ teams mutually agreed upon the location for the president’s visit earlier this week, according to Criswell. And, the DeSantis team did not give any more detailed reasons for why he declined to show up and did not tell Criswell before going public.

“What I can say is that I know that the governor and the president spoke while I was on the ground with the governor on Thursday, and the governor gave no indication at that time that he would not be meeting with the President,” she said.

Biden on Saturday said he’s “been in touch” with DeSantis, not elaborating on the extend of it. He also told reporters that he didn’t’ know what happened with him meeting DeSantis but later added that he wasn’t disappointed that meeting didn’t happen.

“No, I’m not disappointed. He may have had other reasons,” the president said. “But he did help us plan this, he sat with FEMA and decided where we should go, where it would be the least disruptive.”

Biden and DeSantis have set aside politics in the past, with Biden visiting Florida after a building collapse in 2021 and again meeting with the governor and state officials last year to tour storm damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

But, that was before DeSantis officially announced he was running for president to unseat Biden.

And, the decision to publicly meet with a political rival has haunted previous politicians. 

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R)— who is also currently seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination — famously walked on the beach with former President Obama in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy.

The two exchanged public praise and assessed storm damage together, images that went on to haunt Christie when he ran for president in 2016. Christie at the time argued that he didn’t hug Obama during the visit, while some Republicans thought the friendly visit gave Obama a boost in the election. 

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy brought up the scandal in the GOP debate last month. He said to Christie that he should “give me a hug just like you do Obama and elect me just like you did Obama too.”

Biden on Saturday did appear with another political rival, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). 

Scott, who the president has repeatedly criticized for policy proposals related to government programs like Social Security and Medicare, was particularly friendly with the president in Florida.

Scott praised Biden for doing a “great job with the early declaration before the storm hit the coast” and Biden said he was “very pleased” that the senator talked to him about the work the federal government is doing.