Ron DeSantis claims Harris never called him as VP labels him 'selfish' for dodging hurricane relief calls

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) slammed each other at separate interviews on Monday, October 7, while discussing the efforts to provide relief to the people in Florida following the devastating Hurricane Helene.

According to NBC News, the hurricane made landfall on Florida's Big Bend on September 27 and ravaged the neighboring south-eastern states, resulting in the death of over 200 people.

The network reported earlier on the same day that DeSantis was not answering Harris' call when she tried to reach out to help. When asked about it, the latter did not refute the report and doubled down on DeSantis for playing petty politics at a time of emergency.

DeSantis, on the other hand, accused Harris of never calling and stated that he did not "have time for her political games."

Kamala Harris' comments on Ron DeSantis

While addressing reporters at Joint Base Andrew in Maryland, Kamala Harris responded to an inquiry about Ron DeSantis ignoring her calls saying, "You know, moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they’re gonna put politics aside and put the people first."

“People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — is just utterly irresponsible,” she continued.

“It is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first.”

Ron DeSantis' response to Kamala Harris

During an interview on Fox News, DeSantis stated that he was on top of the disaster management efforts in his state, coordinating with the federal government as well as President Joe Biden personally. However, Kamala Harris has made no contribution to the effort, he claimed.

"For Kamala Harris to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish is delusional," he said.

"She has no role in this. In fact, she has been vice president for three and a half years. I've dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts."

"Has she ever called before?" asked the interviewer for clarification, to which DeSantis continued, "No, and here's the thing, she has no role in this process."

He claimed that former president Donald Trump and incumbent Biden had supported him during similar situations, but Harris "is the first one who is trying to politicize the storm and she is doing that just because of her campaign."

"I don't have time for political games," he later added.

Internet slams Kamala Harris and Ron DeSantis 

Netizens reacting to the battle of words on the social media platform X were split in their support for Kamala Harris and Ron DeSantis.

Among those supporting the vice president, a user wrote, "DeSantis is willing to kill Floridians to own the libs."

"It’s near impossible to be a bigger loser than Trump but DeSantis nails it," stated another.

"DeSantis doesn’t care about anything. He just wants to make things worse," expressed a third.

"Again and again republicans create their own issues to bitch about," jibed a fourth.

DeSantis' supporters hit back, with a user tweeting, "DeSantis is actually doing his job."

"What is a phone call with Harris going to do? Honestly. What does that accomplish?" inquired another.

"Going after the Governor whose state is facing the biggest hurricane in a century bc he didn’t speak to you on the phone… looks petty. You’re not helping her by promoting this, quite the opposite," shared another.

"DeSantis has a record of putting the people first. Kamala DOES NOT," added another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.