Biden speaks to DeSantis as Florida governor ‘thankful’ for president’s help on Hurricane Ian

Comes as Hurricane Ian strengthens to nearly a category 5 storm

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden spoke on Tuesday evening as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Ian to make landfall in Florida.

Mr Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he and the Republican governor – who is seen as a potential challenger to Mr Biden in 2024 – spoke “for some time”.

“My team has been in constant contact with him from the very beginning,” Mr Biden said, adding that he had spoken with the mayors of Tampa Bay, St Petersburg and Clearwater. “My message has been absolutely clear: It’s we are on alert and in action to approve every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance and long term assistance that I’ve received.”

The two officials’ conversation comes as Hurricane Ian approaches Category 5 status as it nears landfall on Florida’s west coast, putting roughly eight million people in its bullseye. More than 2.5 million Floridians have left to get out of the path of the hurricane, which Mr DeSantis had called “knocking on the door of a Category 5.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr DeSantis had said that he had not yet spoken to Mr Biden but dismissed concerns.

“My view on all this is like, you got people’s lives at stake, you got their property at stake and we don’t have time for pettiness,” he said. “We got to work together, make sure we’re doing the best job for them, so my phone line is open.”

But later on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News, the governor said that he had a productive conversation with the president.

“The Biden administration has approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration and did that very quicky, so we’re thankful for that,” he said. Mr DeSantis said as the state learns more about the impact of the hurricane, there will be more requests for individual assistance and displaced people.

“And it’s my sense that the administration wants to help,” he said. “I think they realize that this is a really signficant storm.”