Asked how long he’ll pause campaign, Ron DeSantis says response to Idalia ‘no different’ than Ian

Ron DeSantis' plan to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District meets union resistance.

Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t saying how long he will pause his presidential campaign for Hurricane Idalia, but says he’s done it before.

The Governor said during a press conference in Tallahassee that the situation now relative to his 2024 campaign is “no different” than his response to Hurricane Ian last year.

“You remember Ian, we were in the midst of a Governor campaign. I had all kinds of stuff scheduled, not just in Florida, around the country. You know, we were doing different things and, you know, you do what you need to do. I mean, and so that’s what we’re doing,” DeSantis said. “It’s going to be no different than what we did during Hurricane Ian.”

“We’re going to do what we need to do because it’s just something that’s important, but it’s no different than what we’ve done in past iterations of all this stuff,” DeSantis added.

The Governor’s comments Tuesday are the latest to suggest his active campaign is on hold, at least in terms of his personal travel out of state.

On Monday, he said he expected to pause “political season” to work with President Joe Biden on storm recovery.

“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. Meanwhile, his campaign continues to message, with the DeSantis War Room account spotlighting his storm response in lieu of zingers about the President.