President Joe Biden recently traveled to Florida in the wake of the hurricane that pummeled Tampa and the surrounding area, obviously having learned from the Hawaii disaster that showing up early is critical if you don’t want to get the citizenry upset.
But, despite showing up soon after the worst of the hurricane was over rather than two weeks after disaster struck, Floridians were no more enthusiastic about Slow Joe making an appearance than the Hawaiians were. In fact, a group of Floridians greeted him with the same “F*** Joe Biden” greeting!
During his speech, however, Biden did offer to help the stricken state. In one part, he noted that those who farm broiler chickens suffered huge losses from the hurricane, saying, “Just here in this county, millions — millions of broiler chickens had to be destroyed. I know a little about that. Delaware — in the Delmarva Peninsula, it’s a $4 billion industry. It’s the way people make their living. It’s a way you feed the world. It’s amazing.”
Continuing, he said FEMA would help upgrade the state’s power infrastructure, saying, “And hundreds of broken power poles, downed powerlines means many of you in Live Oak have — still have no power. I know it’s frustrating and it’s hard, and I’ve directed FEMA to help you in every way they can. And FEMA in the future can fund and replace these wooden poles with steel poles that are much safer and much more resistant to further kinds of storms like this.”
Biden also hinted that Governor DeSantis, despite refusing to meet with him, has asked for and received help, saying, “I’ve been in frequent touch with Governor DeSantis since the storm made landfall. And at my direction, FEMA Administrator Criswell — she traveled to Florida Wednesday night after having been here earlier.”
Continuing with that point and making it clear that DeSantis had, in fact, asked for help, President Biden then said, “And I approved the request within six hours of the time that Governor DeSantis asked for a mass — a major disaster declaration. At the same time, a request from Governor McMaster of South Carolina for an emergency declaration. That’s a fancy way of saying ‘just getting help immediately and all we can do under the law.’”
And, describing how the government is helping those hurt most by the storm, he said, “And, folks, we’re making federal assistance available for Florida survivors whose homes or businesses are damaged and destroyed. We’re helping Florida and South Carolina deliver meals and water and remove debris. And we pre-positioned ahead of time the — the FEMA pre- — pre-positioned, knowing this storm might hit, meals and water throughout this area.”
So, generally, it was less of a boondoggle than the Hawaii wildfire and an indication that the administration is trying to recover from the terrible optics of Biden’s seemingly lackadaisical response to that disaster.
Check that out here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
"*" indicates required fields