Kamala Harris was at a glitzy, high-dollar fundraiser in Los Angeles late last month when Hurricane Helene barreled through the southeastern United States, leaving behind a trail of devastation in six states. When she did finally return to Washington, DC, she tried to project leadership by powwowing with FEMA executives and touring some of the damage.
But as the criticism has lingered about her involvement – or lack thereof – in the hurricane response, she has sought to redirect blame to… Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who she claims is playing politics by ignoring her calls. The problem? President Joe Biden keeps praising the Republican governor for his leadership and cooperation.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Glenn Greenwald, host of Rumble’s System Update, to discuss the drama between Harris and DeSantis and why it isn’t doing the vice president any favors.
The Timeline
Earlier this week, NBC News kickstarted the drama between Harris, DeSantis, and now Biden with a report that quoted an unnamed aide to the governor who said he wasn’t taking the vice president’s calls because they “seemed political.” At a press conference Monday afternoon, DeSantis denied the report:
DESANTIS: I didn’t know that she had called. I’m not sure who they called. They didn’t call me. Their characterization of it was something that they did. It wasn’t anything that anybody in my office did, in terms of saying it was political.”
– Monday, October 7
But Harris seized on it and offered a statement of her own:
HARRIS: Moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they’re going to put politics aside and put the people first. People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games with this moment in these crisis situations, these are the height of emergency situations, it’s just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish.
– Monday, October 7
The Biden White House then entered the fray. On Monday evening, the administration put out a statement saying Biden had spoken to both DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor about Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The plot thickened from there as Harris doubled down on her critique of DeSantis during an appearance on The View on Tuesday:
HARRIS: I have called and talked with in the course of this crisis, this most recent crisis, Democrat and Republican governors. Called, taken the call, answered the call, had a conversation. So, obviously, this is not an issue that is about partisanship or politics for certain leaders, but maybe it’s for others.
– Tuesday, October 8
But Biden once again had his own take on DeSantis, which he expressed during a FEMA briefing on Hurricanes Helene and Milton:
BIDEN: The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he has gotten all that he needs. I talked to him again yesterday, and I said, ‘No, you’re doing a great job. It’s all being done well. Thank you for it.’ And I literally gave him my personal phone number to call. So, I don’t know– there was a rough start in some places, but every governor… from Florida to North Carolina has been fully cooperative, and supportive, and acknowledged what this team is doing. And they are doing an incredible job, but we got a lot more to do.
– Tuesday, October 8
The controversy came up again on Wednesday as the president delivered a televised address on the threat of Hurricane Milton and took questions from the press. When a reporter asked Biden whether DeSantis should be taking Harris’ phone calls, he didn’t give a straight answer – but did praise the governor.
BIDEN: All I can tell you is I’ve talked to Gov. DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing. And I think that’s important.
– Wednesday, October 9
DeSantis, meanwhile, was on Fox News Wednesday night to discuss his state’s preparedness ahead of Hurricane Milton when Sean Hannity asked about the ongoing drama.
DESANTIS: She has no role in this. In fact, she’s been vice president for three and a half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts… I’ve had storms under both President Trump and President Biden, and I’ve worked well with both of them. She’s the first one who’s trying to politicize the storm, and she’s doing that just because of her campaign… I don’t have time for political games… She is being selfish by trying to blunder into this when we’re working just fine.
– Wednesday, October 9
Not to be outdone, the Harris campaign sought to get one last barb in by releasing a cringey video on social media showing the vice president’s call with the Democrat mayor of St. Petersburg, FL:
In a not-so-subtle dig, she praised Mayor Ken Welch for “answering the call” in a “time of crisis.”
Playing Politics
NBC News reentered the conversation late Wednesday with a follow-up report that quoted a single unnamed source who claimed Biden “hadn’t been briefed about a back-and-forth between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Kamala Harris over hurricane recovery before he praised him as ‘gracious’” at the press conference.
Megyn wasn’t buying it. “She has managed to unite Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis – what is happening,” she joked. “The tension between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris continues to play out in public… and it’s been very interesting to watch him try to undermine her.”
Greenwald agreed. “Just think of this from Joe Biden’s perspective: He did not want to drop out of the race… You don’t think that he is harboring all sorts of vindictiveness and anger – not just to Kamala Harris but at the entire Democratic Party establishment – and don’t you think that if Kamala loses on election day, the person who is going to be laughing the hardest is going to be Joe Biden,” he asked.
No matter Biden’s cognitive condition, Greenwald said he is a politician through and through. “Of course, a lot of this is intentional,” he said. “You don’t stay around politics in Washington, DC, for 55 years and not understand that every time you are praising Ron DeSantis while she is out attacking him that you are purposely sabotaging her.”
Harris Reveals Her Hand
On the topic of state and federal cooperation, Greenwald said there is no logical reason for a governor to speak with the VP. “If you created a list of all the people you would like to speak to to help you get the things you need to provide services for the people of your state, the vice president of the United States – a ceremonial position – would be literally the last on your list,” he noted. “Why would he possibly want to talk to Kamala Harris about anything?”
There is, however, a political reason for the VP to want to speak with the governor. “It is so transparent why she is calling. That’s the worst part,” he concluded. “And then for her to turn around in this objection and say that it is DeSantis who is politicizing it when she had no interest ever before in natural disasters or anything else until suddenly, a month before the election, she wants to be able to say, ‘I briefed the governor DeSantis. He briefed me’? It is so transparent.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Greenwald by tuning in to episode 913 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.