Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday for putting “politics ahead of his job,” after DeSantis snubbed President Joe Biden during his weekend visit to assess Hurricane Idalia damage.
Chris Christie Criticizes DeSantis for not meeting with President Joe Biden (Photo: Medium)
Chris Christie, DeSantis’ Republican presidential primary opponent, has personal experience navigating the optics of a Democratic president’s visit following a natural disaster.
In the recent published article by Politico, following Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed New Jersey in 2012, Chris Christie greeted then-President Barack Obama with a warm handshake on an Atlantic City tarmac — and then spent years defending himself against his “hug” with Obama, which some conservative pundits suggested was the reason Mitt Romney lost the presidential election weeks later.
Chris Christie commended Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) for stepping in to greet Biden when he arrived in Live Oak on Saturday. “Fortunately, Rick Scott, the United States senator and a former governor, a two-term governor, who knows what it means to be governor, showed up and made sure that the president saw the things that he needed to see,” Chris Christie added, referring to DeSantis.
The DeSantis team did not reply right away to a request for comment on Chris Christie’s criticism.
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The governor’s office stated on Friday that the lack of a meeting was due to security preparations and interference with recovery work.
According The Gazette, despite the ongoing criticism of his meeting with Obama, Chris Christie stated on Tuesday that he had no regrets about the reception he extended in 2012.
Chris Christie has firsthand knowledge of disaster recovery. In response to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated New Jersey, Chris Christie met with then-President Barack Obama in October 2012, shortly before the November election, angering Republicans. Christie, on the other hand, is unapologetic about his behavior.
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