Florida resident and former President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted the state’s GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis over his hurricane management and presidential campaign in a post on Truth Social.
“So now it is learned that Governor Ron DeSanctimonious unnecessarily approved a 20% hike in Florida Electricity Rates, the largest in history (by far!), after taking a 9.5 Million Dollar Campaign Contribution from ‘money machine’ Florida Power and Light, and subsidiaries,” Trump posted.
“Next up to check out is the Insurance Industry, where DeSanctus gave up the store. His campaign and poll numbers have ‘CRASHED’ to a point where it doesn’t much matter anymore, but what a shame for Florida!” he continued.
The comments from Trump come as DeSantis and other Florida officials attempt to deal with the fallout and destruction from Hurricane Idalia which barreled across the state on Wednesday.
DeSantis and Trump, political allies-turned-rivals, are the two frontrunners for the 2024 Republican presidential race, with Trump in the lead at 50.3% and DeSantis at 14.8%, according to FiveThirtyEight polling averages.
Historically, natural disasters can prove to be a make-or-break point for politicians.
On Wednesday after a reporter asked President Joe Biden if he sensed any politics in conversations he had with DeSantis about hurricane response, Biden said it isn’t about politics and he thinks DeSantis “trusts” his desire to help.
“Yes. We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harm’s way or have difficulties, and that is not to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning,” DeSantis said at a news conference on Wednesday when asked if he agreed with Biden’s comments.
Earlier this week DeSantis was asked by a reporter what he thought of Trump not yet commenting on the hurricane and he was responded that it wasn’t his “concern” at that time.
Trump and his allies have also criticized DeSantis for the state’s tattered windstorm insurance market, which is socking some customers with double-digit rate increases.
Some insurers have left or announced they’re leaving the hurricane-prone state and the state-run property insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, is seen as financially unstable by market analysts — a problem that precedes DeSantis but one that, critics say, he did too little to fix.
