Rep. Kat Cammack said Wednesday on Newsmax, before President Joe Biden's visit to her state of Florida, that she expects "there will be nothing but professionalism across the board" between him and GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, but also said the visit could backfire on Biden if he tries to insert politics into his appearance.
"These are make-or-break moments in political careers," the Florida Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "I hate to say it that way, but, you know, as we've seen throughout history, the type of response dictates the future of an individual."
But if Biden starts "spouting off about climate change or COVID vaccines, as we heard when we were preparing for the storm, saying that the best way to prepare for the storm is to get vaccinated, that's going to be a real quick way to turn the entire state of Florida and the country against him," Cammack said.
However, she said she's anticipating the visit will be "very low key," as "everybody knows what's at stake here," and she does not anticipate that "this will be political at all."
"We have not just people's property but people's lives are still at stake," said Cammack. "There are still active search and rescue operations happening on the ground where Biden will be going."
DeSantis, she continued, "has been very, very forward and saying this is not about Republicans v. Democrats. This is about being Americans and coming together to help our neighbors and take care of one another. So he has been very forward-facing on that."
Cammack represents Florida's Third Congressional District, located in central Florida and away from Lee County, where Hurricane Ian made landfall a week ago, but 350 homes in her district are under water, "so everyone in this state has been impacted."
She said her husband, a SWAT member with the Gainesville Fire Department, and other colleagues were "putting extra equipment on the trucks" while "preparing for a very, very long haul of cutting down trees, clearing debris, doing search and rescue efforts … this is an all hands on deck effort. We still have active search and rescue operations going, and probably will, for the next week."
DeSantis has come under some fire for not ordering evacuations in Lee County, the hardest hit by the storm, but Cammack defended him and his actions.
"I have to just absolutely tip my hat and say thank you to Gov. DeSantis," she said. "He has done everything possible that he could, and more than that. His wife, Casey has been boots on the ground serving meals to first responders, and as the wife of a first responder, I can't tell you how much it means to see elected leadership out there, lending their support, not just in words, but in action."
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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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