'Outrageous': Ex-GOP lawmaker slams DeSantis for ditching Biden meeting amid storm

A former Republican congressman on Friday shot down Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ explanation for why he can’t meet with Joe Biden during the president's planned Sunshine State visit over the weekend to assess Hurricane Idalia damage.

Adam Kinzinger during an appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” suggested that the DeSantis campaign was more concerned about political optics than serving his constituents, reflecting a new brand of politics -- and he urged voters to “reject that.”

Kinzinger’s statement followed an announcement from DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern citing logistical concerns.

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“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,” Redfern said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

Guest host John Berman asked Kinzinger “Do you think that the DeSantis team is worried about the logistics of it, as they said in the statement, or is it more about the optics?”

The former Jan. 6 select committee member and staunch Trump critic wasn’t buying it.

“There's a 1-to-2 percent chance it's the logistics, there's a 98-to-99 percent chance it's the optics,” Kinzinger said.

“Look, Politics has become…even 10 years ago there were moments you could put politics aside and do what you were actually elected to do, which is lead, help, you know, that kind of stuff. It has now infected everything, and Ron DeSantis, at the cost of the benefit to Florida, has decided his political campaign cannot have him meet with Joe Biden, the President of the United States who ultimately, will be signing the checks that Florida is going to be begging for.”

Kinzinger added: “I mean it is absolutely outrageous that at a moment…I couldn't imagine being a governor of any state, having a tragedy like that, and then turning around and thinking about how this could affect my election. It's just it's where we're at now and people have to just reject that."

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