周六，乔·拜登总统调查了地震造成的损失飓风伊达利亚并向风暴的受害者保证联邦政府的反应，此前佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯选择不与他会面。
拜登在佛罗里达州表示，他对德桑蒂斯拒绝与他会面并不失望。
“不，我不失望，”拜登周六下午说。“他可能有其他原因，因为——但他确实帮我们策划了这件事。他和联邦应急管理局坐在一起，决定我们应该去哪里，哪里的干扰最小。”
拜登随后赞扬了佛罗里达州共和党参议员里克·斯科特(Rick Scott)，与德桑蒂斯形成鲜明对比的是，他与总统一起视察了一些受灾最严重的地区。总统说，他对斯科特的出席感到“非常高兴”，尽管他们“根本”没有达成一致意见。
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden listen as Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks at Suwannee Pineview Elementary School, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Live Oak, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
胡里奥·科尔特斯/美联社
下午早些时候，在关于恢复工作的简报会上，斯科特本人称赞了拜登。
“首先，总统在风暴袭击海岸前的早期声明做得很好。这是一件大事。它帮助了所有这些第一反应者，”斯科特说。“然后你通过联邦应急管理局批准个人援助的速度有多快，公共援助和垃圾清理对这些社区的每个人来说都是一件大事。”
总统还告诉佛罗里达人，联邦政府致力于飓风后的恢复工作。
“正如我告诉你们州长的那样，如果你们州需要什么，我准备动员这种支持，”总统说。“他们需要的任何与这些风暴有关的东西。你们的国家支持你们，我们会和你们在一起，直到任务完成。”
拜登周六早上告诉记者，他给德桑蒂斯的信息是:“我们会照顾好佛罗里达州。”
周六早上，当总统开始他的州之行时，他在镜头前首次回应了他与德桑蒂斯的会面失败。
“我不知道，”拜登在回答一个大声提问时说，他和第一夫人登上海军一号，询问他与州长的会面发生了什么。“他不会在那里。”
联邦紧急事务管理局局长迪安·克里斯威尔周六表示，德桑蒂斯办公室周五表达的安全担忧没有传达给联邦应急管理局的工作人员。
“自从我离开后，我的团队一直在实地工作，我们没有听到对我们今天将要访问的社区有任何影响的担忧，”克里斯威尔周六说。
该官员的评论如下德桑蒂斯的办公室表示，他不会与拜登会面他引用了总统安全细节可能对恢复工作造成的破坏性影响。
“我们没有州长明天会见总统的任何计划，”德桑蒂斯的新闻秘书杰里米·雷德费恩周五在一份声明中对美国广播公司新闻说。“在这些农村社区，在受影响后不久，仅仅是召开这样一次会议的安全准备工作就会停止正在进行的恢复工作。”
周六早上被问到，“你同意他的观点，安全机构不够强大吗?”拜登笑着问:“你呢?”
白宫新闻秘书郭佳欣·让-皮埃尔周六表示，对州长的邀请仍然有效。
“当然欢迎他今天和总统在一起，”她说。
去年，当拜登前往佛罗里达州调查伊恩飓风造成的损失时，两位政治领导人搁置了政治，但那是在德桑蒂斯宣布他的2024年竞选活动之前。
美国广播公司新闻部联系了德桑蒂斯的办公室，请其置评。
除了德桑蒂斯的冷落，似乎众议员卡特卡姆马克，佛罗里达州，可能也拒绝了与拜登的会晤。在拜登抵达佛罗里达州之前，克里斯威尔说，据她了解，卡姆马克将加入总统，但没有出席。美国广播公司新闻部联系了卡姆马克的办公室，以确认她是否会与拜登会面，但没有得到回复。
斯科特明年将竞选连任，宣布的周五晚上，在德桑蒂斯的办公室拒绝与总统会面后几分钟，他在推特上说，他将与拜登一起在Suwannee县听取当地官员的简报，并会见受飓风Idalia影响的家庭。斯科特还表示，他将敦促拜登支持他的立法，即联邦灾难责任法案，并补充说，佛罗里达州和美国会从该法案的通过中受益。
Biden says 'I don't know' what happened with DeSantis meeting as he surveys Hurricane Idalia damage
President Joe Biden on Saturday surveyed damage caused byHurricane Idaliaand reassured the storm's victims of the federal government's response, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chose not to meet with him.
While on the ground in Florida, Biden said he was not disappointed that DeSantis rejected a meeting with him.
"No, I'm not disappointed," Biden said Saturday afternoon. "He may have had other reasons because- but he did help us plan this. He sat with FEMA and decided where we should go, where it'd be the least disruption."
Biden then commended Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, who in contrast with DeSantis joined the president on his tour of some of the hardest-hit areas. The president said he was "very pleased" that Scott was present even though they do not agree on "very much at all."
Earlier in the afternoon, during a briefing on the recovery effort, Scott himself complimented Biden.
"First off, the President did a great job with the early declaration before the storm hit the coast. That was a big deal. It helped all these first responders," Scott said. "And then with how fast you approved through FEMA the individual assistance, the public assistance and debris pickup is a big deal to everyone in these communities."
The president also told Floridians that the federal government was committed to the hurricane recovery effort.
"As I told your governor, if there's anything your state needs, I'm ready to mobilize that support," the president said. "Anything they need related to these storms. Your nation has your back and we'll be with you until the job is done."
Biden told reporters Saturday morning that his message to DeSantis is: "We're gonna take care of Florida."
The president offered his first on-camera reaction to his meeting with DeSantis falling through on Saturday morning as he began his trip to the state.
"I don't know," Biden said in response to a shouted question as he and the first lady boarded Marine One about what happened with his meeting with the governor. "He's not going to be there."
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Saturday that security concerns expressed by DeSantis' office Friday were not relayed to FEMA staffers.
"I have teams that have been on the ground since I left, and we have heard no concerns over any impact to the communities we're going to visit today," Criswell said Saturday.
The official's comment comes afterDeSantis's office said he would not meet with Biden, citing the disruptive effect a presidential security detail could have on the recovery effort.
"We don't have any plans for the Governor to meet with the President tomorrow," DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, said to ABC News in a statement Friday. "In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts."
Asked Saturday morning, "Do you agree with him that the security apparatus isn't strong enough?" Biden smiled and asked, "Do you?"
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Saturday that the invite to the governor still stands.
"Of course he is welcome to be with the president today," she said.
The two political leaders set aside politics last year when Biden traveled to Florida to survey damage from Hurricane Ian -- but that was before DeSantis announced his 2024 campaign.
ABC News has reached out to DeSantis' office for comment.
In addition to DeSantis' snub, it appears Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., may have also turned down a meeting with Biden. Before Biden landed in Florida, Criswell said it was her understanding that Cammack would join the president, but was not present. ABC News reached out to Cammack's office to confirm if she was going to meet with Biden, but did not hear back.
Scott, who is up for reelection next year,announcedon Twitter Friday night, minutes after DeSantis's office rejected a meeting with the president, that he would be in Suwannee County with Biden to receive a briefing from local officials and meet with families impacted by Hurricane Idalia. Scott also said he would urge Biden to support his legislation, The Federal Disaster Responsibility Act, adding that Floridians and Americans would benefit from its passage.
