Biden, Florida’s DeSantis work ‘hand-in-glove’ on Hurricane Ian recovery

US President Joe Biden met with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday to assess the devastation from Hurricane Ian, and stressed the need for a united federal and state effort for the lengthy recovery ahead.

Biden, a Democrat, and DeSantis, his potential Republican presidential rival, have clashed over issues, including Covid-19 vaccines, climate change and abortion rights.

They largely set those differences aside during the visit to hard-hit Fort Myers, as Biden pledged federal support for a cleanup and rebuilding effort that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and take years to complete.

Biden and DeSantis greeted each other warmly and stood shoulder to shoulder as they met with victims of the hurricane.

“President, welcome to Florida. We appreciate working together across various levels of government,” DeSantis often a blistering critic of the president, told Biden during remarks after the tour.

“We’re in this together,” said Biden, who referred to DeSantis as ‘Guv,’ and complimented the “good job” the governor had done.

“We’ve worked hand-in-glove. We have very different political philosophies.”

More than 100 people died and nearly 400,000 homes and businesses remained without power in Florida on Tuesday, five days after Hurricane Ian crashed across the state.

Biden opened his remarks by saying the storm showed climate change was real and needed to be addressed, something some in DeSantis’s Republican party have denied.

“I think the one thing this has finally ended is a discussion about whether or not there’s climate change and we should do something about it,” he said.

Climate change is making hurricanes wetter, windier and altogether more intense, experts say.

The president also stressed the amount of federal help Florida receive for storm aid and as part of Democrat-backed spending, including US$13 billion (S$18.5 billion) over the next five years for highways and bridges.

“The key here is building back better and stronger to withstand the next storm. We can’t build back to what it was before. You got to build back better, because we know more is coming,” he said.

Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived in Fort Meyers early on Wednesday afternoon, two days after visiting Puerto Rico, a US territory battered by Hurricane Fiona last month.

Biden got an aerial view of the destruction during a helicopter flight and called the destruction horrific.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said it would cost the federal government billions of dollars to repair the damage from the storm.

“We are still very much in the lifesaving and stabilization mode. They are just beginning the assessments of what the actual extent of damages to the infrastructure. It’s going to be in the billions,” Criswell said.

 

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES