‘There’s No Politics Here’: Karine Jean-Pierre Shuts Down Press Corps Repeated Attempts to Fan the Biden-DeSantis Flames Ahead of Ian’s Landfall
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that political differences tinged President Joe Biden’s efforts to coordinate a response to Hurricane Ian with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).
Jean-Pierre led Wednesday’s press briefing with an explainer of the Biden administration’s phone calls with DeSantis and the assistance that the government is providing to Florida as Ian is about to make landfall. When the briefing opened up to questions, Jean-Pierre explained that Biden has received “regular briefings” on the storm, and “will most likely continue to make calls” on the storm’s progression.
Asked to describe the substance of the DeSantis calls, Jean-Pierre said Biden pledged “the full force” of the government and ongoing coordination with the state in response to the storm. ABC News’s Cecilia Vega asked about how regularly Biden will be receiving updates, but she also asked about the “tone” of the DeSantis call because of the “complex relationship” between him and Biden.
“There’s no politics in this,” Jean-Pierre answered. “This is about the people of Florida. This is about 2 people who wanted to have a conversation on how we can be partners to the governor and his constituents and make sure we are delivering for the people of Florida. That is the focus and that is going to continue to be the focus the next few days.”
Jean-Pierre’s answer comes after DeSantis gave an interview to Fox News where he offered gratitude to the Biden administration for working with them during preparation efforts. This marks a departure from the usual political negativity DeSantis expresses with regards to the president.
“We all need to work together regardless of party lines. The Biden administration has approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration and did that very quickly. So we’re thankful for that,” said DeSantis. “It’s my sense that the administration wants to help. I think he realizes that this is a really significant storm.”
Watch above via The White House.
