DeSantis Hails ‘Very Supportive’ Biden in Wake of Building Collapse: ‘You Recognized the Severity of This Tragedy From Day One’

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) hailed President Joe Biden during a briefing on the building collapse in Surfside, Florida — acknowledging the president’s support in the wake of the tragedy.

“You know what’s good about this? The way you’re cooperating. We’re letting the nation know we can cooperate,” Biden said to the room after Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) praised DeSantis’ response to the collapse.

“I want to thank you, Governor DeSantis, your team has been amazing, but you personally have been amazing,” Cava said. “You’ve been a steady, calming, reassuring but forceful voice every second of the way.”

Biden cut in before DeSantis could respond, noting the importance of bipartisanship and proving to the nation that leaders can look past political differences when “it’s really important.”

“This is life and death. I just got back from 12 days in Europe, they wonder whether we can do this,” Biden added. “And we’re doing it.”

DeSantis later thanked the president, adding, “You recognized the severity of this tragedy from day one, and you’ve been very supportive.”

The governor went on to honor those who either died due to the collapse, or who are still missing one week later.

“The corporation has been great. The local — both the municipal and the county — have been fantastic, and you guys have not only been supportive on the federal level, but we’ve had no bureaucracy,” he said. “When we’re dealing with FEMA, we’re literally getting requests routed from local to state to federal in no time.”

Biden then added, “I promised you there would be none,” which DeSantis confirmed with a “Yeah.”

The interaction between the two comes after The Washington Examiner reported that Donald Trump is refusing DeSantis’ request to postpone an upcoming rally in Sarasota this weekend, as search and rescue workers continue to search for victims of the collapse.

“The governor is getting tested here as to how far he’s going to be pushed before he breaks ranks with President Trump. And he has to be very careful because this is Trump country,” one source told the Examiner. “The base loves the president. But they equally love Ron. It’s a showdown going on right now.”

Another source told the magazine, “There’s a huge rift between the DeSantis and Trump [camps],” regarding the request to cancel the rally.

Watch above, via CBS News.