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Harris and DeSantis are at odds over the hurricane response after Florida's governor reportedly refused to take the vice president's call

Harris and DeSantis are at odds over the hurricane response after Florida's governor reportedly refused to take the vice president's call

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Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for “playing political games” after reports he refused to take her call about hurricane relief, while DeSantis later attacked the Democratic candidate, saying she had “tried to politicize the storm.” as Florida prepares for its second major hurricane in two weeks.

Important facts

NBC News reported earlier Monday that DeSantis had refused to take Harris' calls about recovery efforts, just a week after Hurricane Helene hit the state's Big Bend region.

When Harris was asked to comment on the report as he departed from Joint Base Andrews in New York, he did not deny it, saying that people “desperately needed support now and to play political games at this moment in these crisis situations.” … is simply completely irresponsible.” .”

Without naming DeSantis, the vice president added: “It's selfish and it's about political games rather than doing the job you swore an oath to do.”

When reached for comment, DeSantis initially told reporters he was unaware that Harris had tried to reach him, adding, “I'm not sure who they called.” You didn’t call me.”

However, DeSantis later appeared on Fox News host Sean Hannity's primetime show and attacked Harris. He said he has dealt with several storms under the Biden administration and “she has not contributed to any of those efforts.”

DeSantis said he was in contact with the president and the FEMA director, adding, “She has no role in this… She's the first to try to politicize the storm. And she's only doing that because of her campaign.”

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