President Biden to visit Florida to survey Hurricane Idalia damage

ORLANDO, Fla. — President Joe Biden is headed to Florida on Saturday to survey Idalia’s damage and speak with hurricane victims.

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Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will arrive in Gainesville and take an aerial tour of the destroyed areas.

From there, they will land in Live Oak in the Big Bend to meet with local officials for a briefing on recovery efforts.

Read: Biden will travel to Florida Saturday afternoon to tour areas damaged by Hurricane Idalia

Many communities are reeling from Idalia and are trying to pick up the pieces.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Austin Ellison. “(I) shed many tears, and thank God nobody died.”

As the recovery continues, Biden promised to allocate federal resources to help the hardest-hit areas.

“Our immediate priority is working with state and local officials, really understand what their needs are,” said Colt Hagmaier, FEMA deputy assistant administrator.

Read: DeSantis won’t meet with Biden during president’s trip to survey Idalia damage

Senator Rick Scott posted on X Friday that he would join Biden during his Suwanee County visit.

But Governor Ron DeSantis said he has no plans to meet with the president during his trip.

Video: DeSantis won’t meet with Biden during president’s trip to survey Idalia damage (Brittany Caldwell, WFTV.com/WFTV)

Read: Hurricane Idalia brings ‘dangerous conditions’ to Florida’s Atlantic Coast

DeSantis said he spoke with Biden on the phone Thursday and raised concerns about pulling recovery resources away for the meeting.

A White House Official said on Friday that the governor did not raise those concerns with the president during the phone call.

The governor’s office said security preparations to set up the meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts in rural communities.

“And so, what we want to do is make sure that the power restoration continues, that the relief efforts continue and that we don’t have any interruption in that,” he said.

When asked by a reporter if the Biden Administration had offered any assistance to the state, DeSantis said, “We’re all good, we’re all good.”

The president is asking Congress for billions in extra disaster relief funding in the wake of Idalia. He has formally approved a major disaster declaration for the state.

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