Ideally, politics might briefly be put on pause when it comes to federal/state cooperation in dealing with Hurricane Idalia. But the Trump-hating liberal media never sleeps!
During today's Morning Joe, Willie Geist and Jonathan repeatedly emphasized that politics are being put aside in the dealings between the Biden administration and the administration of Florida Governor -- and potential Biden presidential opponent -- Ron DeSantis, as they organize the response to Hurricane Idalia.
Host Willie Geist couldn't quite equate disaster expertise with DeSantis: "So, obviously, Jonathan, the federal government and the state of Florida know how to do this, unfortunately. They do it all too often, including last year with Hurricane Ian, which hit the southwest coast of Florida."
Jonathan Lemire replied: "Right, and at least for a few days, Willie, both sides will try to set politics to the side."
But when the show aired DeSantis's live briefing on the hurricane, the very first question out of the box from a reporter was a snarky shot at Donald Trump. The unidentified woman reporter asked:
"What do you think about Trump? You know, he's a resident here in Florida, and he hasn't commented on Idalia at all yet."
To use a favorite Trump adjective, DeSantis, without hesitation, gave the "perfect" response during a crisis, putting politics to the side:
"It's not my concern. My concern is protecting the people of Florida."
PS: One might assume that a reporter asking about Trump failing to comment on the hurricane might be interpreted as a pro-DeSantis question, but usually DeSantis faces tough questions from the local "mainstream" types.
Morning Joe's unexpected political spin on the hurricane was sponsored in part by Liberty Mutual and Citi.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
8/30/23
6:28 am EDTWILLIE GEIST: Let's bring in the host of Way Too Early, White House bureau chief at Politico, Jonathan Lemire.
So, obviously, Jonathan, the federal government and the state of Florida know how to do this, unfortunately. They do it all too often, including last year with Hurricane Ian, which hit the southwest coast of Florida.
An interesting dynamic, though, and another layer this year is that Ron DeSantis, of course, is running against, potentially, Joe Biden to become the next President of the United States.
JONATHAN LEMIRE: Right, and at least for a few days, Willie, both sides will try to set politics to the side.
GEIST: Yeah.
LEMIRE: And they're going to focus on the response here to this storm.
. . .
We should note, Willie, that soon enough, there will be debates in congress about disaster funds, relief aid to rebuild the areas there, and of course, in Maui with those wildfires.
And that may go political far more. Politics may return to that venue sooner than we want. It has happened before in the wake of storms like this. We already know a fierce spending fight is on the horizon, which could include even a government shutdown. Republicans and Democrats far apart on many issues, but hopefully they can come together, at least, quickly on this.
GEIST: Well, for now any way, politics rightly goes to the side as the federal government coordinates with the government there in Florida. As Jon said, Governor DeSantis will hold a briefing here in the next couple of minutes. We will of course bring that to you live.
. . .
GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS: Any time you do this, you know, you would want it to impact as small amount of places as possible.REPORTER: What do you think about Trump? You know, he's a resident here in Florida, and he hasn't commented on Idalia at all yet.
DESANTIS: It's not my concern. My concern is protecting the people of Florida.
Being ready to go, and we've done that and, look, we, in Florida, you just have to do this. I mean, this is something we put a lot of time and effort into throughout the course of each year, knowing that there's going to be time where you're going to have to activate it.
