Ron DeSantis pauses ‘political season’ as he eyes post-Idalia cooperation with White House

Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis routinely blasts “Bidenflation,” pledges to send President Joe Biden “back to his basement in Delaware,” and lampoons Hunter Biden’s artwork, saying his daughter works better with finger painting.

However, DeSantis expects another round of smooth cooperation with the Democratic White House in the aftermath of approaching Tropical Storm Idalia.

“When you have situations like this,” DeSantis told reporters, “you’ve got to put the interests of the people first.”

The Governor spoke Monday in Tallahassee as Idalia closes in on the state.

“There’s time and a place to have (a) political season, but then there’s a time and a place to say that this is something that’s life-threatening. This is something that could potentially cost somebody their life, that could cost them their livelihood. And we have a responsibility as Americans to come together and do what we can to mitigate any damage and to protect people,” DeSantis said.

“So that’s what I’ve done on all these different issues and that’s what I’ll continue to do; when you have these situations, you got to step up.”

How long the “political season” is on hold remains to be seen. The Governor has told supporters to expect a telephone town hall Thursday night, and his campaign notes he’s already been to more than half of Iowa’s counties as a presidential candidate.

The shift is notable — but with precedent established by previous tragedies in the state.

DeSantis and Biden cooperated in the wake of 2022’s Hurricane Ian, and the President said DeSantis had been “pretty remarkable” in the wake of the storm.

DeSantis and Biden were together after the storm for an event in Southwest Florida, with Biden vowing to be with the region’s residents as they all worked to “build back better.” Biden said he and DeSantis were working together “hand in glove” at the time.

During Fox News hits at the time, the Governor took credit for building a relationship with the President.

“Well, I’ll tell you what. I mean, what I told him is that the media was making a big deal that he wasn’t talking to me or whatever. And I told him, I was like, ‘Look, I want to work together for these people. Because these people are from all walks of life. Republicans, Democrats, they expect us to be able to put our differences aside,’” DeSantis said last October.

DeSantis and Biden also worked together in the aftermath of a condo collapse in Surfside in June 2021, where they again downplayed the rhetoric of the so-called “political season” to present a united front in the face of tragedy.