Ron DeSantis Promotes Campaign During Hurricane Recovery Work

From wearing campaign garb at hurricane recovery events to falsely asserting that Ian’s landfall wasn’t “even in the cone” three days earlier, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking his combative, hyper-partisan style into his first major natural disaster response since taking office and just weeks before the Nov. 8 election that would give the Republican a second term.

“He doesn’t handle scrutiny well. The governor suffers from a glass jaw and quick temper,” said David Jolly, a former GOP congressman from Tampa. “It becomes apparent as he’s challenged with facts that don’t fit his narrative. It may be tough to confront a governor’s word during tragedy, but it’s important the state know the truth.”

On Monday, DeSantis grew testy in an interview with a CNN reporter who asked him if Lee County, where Hurricane Ian made landfall, should have called for a mandatory evacuation earlier than Tuesday, just a day before the storm hit, the way neighboring counties had done.

“Where was your industry stationed when the storm hit? Were you guys in Lee County? No, you were in Tampa,” he said to the reporter. “So they were following the weather track, and they had to make decisions based on that. But, you know, 72 hours, they weren’t even in the cone. Forty-eight hours, they were on the periphery, so you’ve got to make the decisions best you can.”