OLIVIER DOULIERY
A week after Vivek Ramaswamy slammed former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the GOP presidential debate for embracing then-President Barack Obama after Superstorm Sandy, it appears that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to avoid a similar visual.
Ahead of President Joe Biden’s Saturday tour of Hurricane Idalia’s damage, DeSantis’ office refuted the president’s claim that he would be meeting with the governor during the visit, claiming it would negatively impact the recovery efforts in the state.
While the White House and governor have both been complimentary of each other in the immediate aftermath of the devastating storm and DeSantis is suggesting partisan politics are not at play here, the specter of Christie’s hospitality to Obama days before the hotly contested 2012 election—and the conservative criticism Christie still receives over it—seems to be looming over this decision.