US President Joe Biden visited Florida on Wednesday, where Hurricane Ian caused death and devastation. “Today is about America uniting” behind Florida, he said on the lands of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
“You have my promise and America’s promise, that we won’t let you down. We’ll be with you through this process and it’s going to take a hell of a long time,” the 79-year-old Democrat told residents. of Florida, while the governor, one of his most virulent political opponents, stood camped behind him, the mine closed.
“We are grateful for the work done together at various levels of administration,” Ron DeSantis, 44, told him. A figure of the hard right, he is often announced as a presidential candidate for 2024 and, therefore, a potential rival of Joe Biden, who officially intends to run again.
Category 4
The White House, which declared a state of emergency before Category 4 Hurricane Ian hit a week ago, has promised, among other things, to fully fund debris removal and emergency works for two months. consolidation.
Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey DeSantis greeted Joe and Jill Biden with quick handshakes as they arrived at the fishing port of Fort Myers, one of the hardest-hit communities. The presidential couple had already flown by helicopter over the disaster areas. He strolled with his hosts, each keeping their distance somewhat, in this very tested district.
Joe Biden, true to his empathetic nature, distributed handshakes and occasionally hugged his interlocutors.
The official death toll was 76 on Tuesday (72 in Florida and 4 in North Carolina), but the American media count more than a hundred deaths.
Hundreds of thousands of Florida residents were still without power Tuesday. Authorities said it would take months and $50 billion or more to rebuild.
“Human Lives”
Tracey Gore, 51-year-old Fort Myers resident, was happy to see Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis join forces: “It’s the most important thing. It’s not about politics right now, it’s about lives human.”
Speaking to reporters on site, the Democratic president said: “We have very different policy approaches, but we have worked hand in hand.” The governor of Florida is regularly talked about with his controversial statements and decisions.
He recently airlifted migrants to Washington and a popular Democratic elite vacation spot, Martha’s Vineyard. The White House had criticized a “political maneuver […] cruel”.
Ron DeSantis also passed a law that prohibits teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation in public elementary schools, a text that could harm young people from the LGBT + community, according to his critics.
Florida, long considered a “swing state” oscillating between Democrats and Republicans, now seems to lean more clearly to the right. She voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections and the polls promise Ron DeSantis easy re-election as governor in November.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp