Florida residents are about to take a dangerous beating from Hurricane Milton because Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to take a call from Vice President Kamala Harris, her campaign co-chair said Tuesday.
Cedric Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman, condemned in a heated conversation with CNN's Jim Acosta the Florida Republican's refusal to speak with Harris over complaints of campaign season "political games."
"I went through Hurricane Katrina and Rita and I saw thousands of people die," Richmond said. "These hurricanes are serious, and that is an idiotic statement."
Florida Tuesday was bracing for an "extremely dangerous" storm less than two weeks after the deadly Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state.
Tampa's mayor on Monday evening begged residents to flee the city with a dire promise that, if they remained, they were "gonna die."
On Tuesday morning, DeSantis made time for a Fox & Friends appearance to slam Harris for reaching out to his office.
"She's never shown any interest in the past," DeSantis said at a press conference. "I have zero time to entertain these political games."
This response infuriated Richmond.
"When the vice president or the president calls you to see what you need on the ground, to see what you need before the storm, during the storm and after the storm," said Richmond, "it could cost lives to not answer that call."
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Richmond fumed it was DeSantis playing political games — and argued the proof his play was bad was Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump.
"It's why Ron DeSantis didn't make it to the big boy stage," Richmond said. "It's why Donald Trump emasculated him at every step, because he's not ready for primetime."
Richmond urged DeSantis to respond to Hurricane Milton as he had represented Louisiana as a state house representative in August 2005, when Katrina hit New Orleans.
He urged DeSantis to ignore political policy and prioritize his constituents safety or face devastating consequences.
"I think the day after the storm hits we're going to be back revisiting this conversation," he said. "People are going to die because he is selfish and playing political games.
"I am terrified for the people of Florida."
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