Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez told Newsmax Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris, with her claims that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused her calls as Hurricane Milton approaches, is "the only one that's playing political games."
"It's a shame," the Republican official said on "Wake Up America." "When the governor has been working around the clock for close to two weeks now, dealing with Hurricane Helene and now dealing with the preparation for Hurricane Milton, I mean, shame on her, truly, for even so much as insinuating that the governor is playing politics with Floridians lives."
A source close to the governor said he refused to take a call from Harris to discuss hurricane response as the state recovers from Helene and braces to face Milton, ABC News reported Monday. The governor, however, said he was not aware that she had called him.
Nunez said the governor has spoken with President Joe Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and that "all the relevant people that need to be in communication with the governor are in communication."
Harris, though, is "irrelevant in this hurricane preparedness, so I think she should stick to campaigning because that's the only thing she's worried about right now," the lieutenant governor said.
Nunez added that "everything we need" from the federal government in advance of the storm has been provided, and an emergency declaration has already been approved, so the FEMA reimbursement pieces are already in place.
"We've got everything we need right now," she said. "We want Floridians to be calm, but we also want them to take this very seriously."
The state is also making sure that people who need to evacuate are doing so, Nunez stressed.
"If you're in that path and you've been issued a mandatory evacuation zone, we want to make sure that you get out of the way so that you can keep you and your family safe," said Nunez. "Preservation of life is always our No. 1 priority, and this storm is a serious storm."
Evacuation orders, she added, are never put out lightly.
"We are looking at a historic catastrophic storm surge, perhaps in some places up to 15 feet," said Nunez. "That is something that is life-threatening and life-altering. So again, your home, your possessions, as tragic as that can be, that can be replaced. Your lives are irreplaceable and that of your loved ones and your pets."
The state has also partnered with Uber to help offer people free rides to shelters, leaving "no excuse to stay behind," said Nunez.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has warned that "if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die," and Nunez, also appearing on Newsmax's "National Report," stressed that the governor has been clear in encouraging people to evacuate.
"Today is the time to do so," she said. "We know that this is going to have far-reaching implications for a good portion of our state. The amount of catastrophic storm surge and winds and flooding, that is a serious risk to human life."
State officials have also opened up emergency lanes on highways to make sure that traffic continues to flow, and Nunez stressed that there are no fuel shortages in the state at this time.
"Everything is functioning and we're monitoring it and we'll make decisions as the need arises," she said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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