Today in Florida, Biden said that the number of rescues in Florida amounts to 3,800. DeSantis said the number is 2,500. Who is right?
The explanation that FEMA Administrator Criswell gave suggests that both may be right.
“The numbers are really dynamic. Some of those numbers include the efforts of local responders and some of them are just the federal/state responders, so it really depends on who they’re looking at that’s doing it,” said Criswell.
She said that DeSantis could have referred to just the federal and state teams, whereas the president’s stat could have included some local efforts.
Biden praised DeSantis in Florida for handling Hurricane Ian’s recovery effort.
“I think he’s done a good job. Look I called him – I think even before he called me, when I heard this storm was on its way. We worked hand in glove, we have very different political philosophies, but we worked hand in glove. And he’s been on – on things related to dealing with this crisis, we’ve been completely lockstep. There’s been no difference.”
Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis, her husband said, worked on a volunteer effort, to allow donations to flow to the state.
In the parking lot just after the briefing ended, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., answered several questions.
—Why was it important to you today to put politics aside and be here with the president?
“Because our area needs all the help it can get, so we’ll deal with the politics later,” Donald said. Right now, it is about “getting people back on their feet.”
—How has the federal response been?
“The response has been good. Everybody has been all hands on deck. Which is what we needed,” responded Donalds.
