White House officials expressed surprise on Saturday, as they were not prepared for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ choice to decline a meeting with President Biden during Biden’s scheduled visit to the state later in the day.

Previously, Biden had announced his intention to hold a meeting with the governor while touring areas of Florida affected by Hurricane Idalia.

However, the DeSantis team contradicted the president’s statement by declining the meeting, Fox News reported.

During a briefing aboard Air Force One, journalists questioned Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Deanne Criswell and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre regarding the situation.

This inquiry arose because the White House had previously indicated that a meeting location had been confirmed for the president’s visit and that security preparations posed no problems.

“There was just no indication that he was not going to be there,” Jean-Pierre said of DeSantis. 

Criswell, who inspected the hurricane damage alongside DeSantis on both Wednesday and Thursday, affirmed that the location in Live Oak where Biden is scheduled to visit had been chosen through mutual agreement.

She also mentioned that Biden had a telephone conversation with the governor on Thursday.

Written by staff