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As Hurricane Ian approaches the west coast of Florida, Newsweek magazine noted that Gov. DeSantis has been all business.

The governor, who often uses his briefings as a vessel for political sparring aimed at President Joe Biden, has instead focused recent briefings on the storm. In his Tuesday briefing, DeSantis didn’t critique Biden but instead urged Floridians to take precautions and prepare themselves for when Hurricane Ian hits. He also urged those who are in the path of the storm to evacuate.

DeSantis, a 2024 presidential contender, is often compared to former President Donald Trump for his rhetoric and political stances. But on Saturday, the Republican governor thanked Biden for declaring a federal state of emergency in Florida. “They stand by ready to help, so we appreciate that quick action,” DeSantis said.

But if Gov. DeSantis has been able to put aside potshots, it seems President Biden is still struggling to do so. Today, Biden called three Florida mayors to discuss plans for responding to the hurricane but he did not speak to Gov. DeSantis.

President Biden called three Florida mayors Tuesday as Hurricane Ian nears Florida’s western coast — but didn’t call Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, with whom he has clashed on issues such as COVID-19 policies and migration.

Presidents frequently speak directly with governors during emergency events — both to demonstrate political unity and to help coordinate federal and state relief efforts.

As the devastating Category 3 storm approached, Biden instead spoke with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard. Castor and Welch are Democrats, while Hibbard is a Republican.

All of this was rolled out today during the White House press conference.

Several reporters asked FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell for clarification about why the President hadn’t called the Gov. of Florida and whether he intended to do so.

Question: …you’ve spoken to the governor of the state; why hasn’t the President yet?  Or is there a scheduled call for the two men to speak, obviously, as they’re the preeminent leaders of the country and of that state?…

Criswell: And as far as the conversation, the President directed me to contact the governor early on, before we even did the declaration; I did that.  My regional administrator is with the governor right now, making sure that we’re understanding what the needs are.  And our focus is on the current life safety needs that need to be met.

I think we can take that as a no. There’s no plan to call the governor. But that wasn’t the end of it. Criswell was asked again to explain why the Gov. wasn’t getting a call from President Biden.

Q    I just want to return to what Peter had asked about Governor DeSantis.  In the past, President Tru- — President Biden, excuse me, has made calls to governors in situations of natural disasters — Kay Ivey in Alabama, Asa Hutchinson in Arkansas, or the governor in Texas.

Is there any — can you articulate, I guess, how those determinations are made, and why — why it hasn’t been made in this case to have the President call the governor?

Criswell:  Yeah, the President is very focused on making sure that the federal family has the right resources available to support this.  That is why I contacted the governor right away, and we have a team of my senior leadership that are embedded with the governor to make sure that we’re supporting that.

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Our focus today is making sure that we have the right measures in place to support the lifesaving activities that need to happen.

Any conversations afterwards would need to be — we need to see what the damages are.

Q    But he’s made conversations with the mayors.  So is there any reason why not the governor?

Criswell:  Again, we have a strong team that’s in place supporting the governor right now, working side-by-side with him and his staff.  We’ll continue to stay engaged with him.

Here’s a clip of that last answer:

Despite having to tap dance around these questions, Criswell said politics would have no impact on the federal response.

Q  Thanks.  Just a follow-up to that.  Normally, presidents call governors or the governors call presidents.  But the only thing that really — during hurricanes.  The only real question I really want answered is, is it in any way the fact that they haven’t talked — is there any way that it’s impeded efforts for the federal government or FEMA to implement plans in Florida?  And if so, what would they be?

Criswell:  No, this — we are very focused on what the needs of Florida is right now.  We do not bring politics into our ability to respond to these disasters.  We’re going to support whatever Governor DeSantis asks of us.  We signed his emergency declaration within hours of him sending it in.  We’ll continue to do that as we see what the impacts of this storm are.

That may be so but it’s still an intentional slight which is obviously political. Even CBS News asked about it.

Ultimately a phone call from the president is more of a courtesy than it is a requirement. Still, I think we all know how this would be covered if President Trump refused to call a Democratic governor who was facing a natural disaster. People on the left would (rightly) point out that some things ought to be above partisan politics. But it seems President Biden can’t manage that. Meanwhile, Gov. DeSantis has been all business. Here’s his response yesterday to a question about whether or not he’d heard from the president.

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