President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic telling a Florida mayor that "no one [expletive] with a Biden" as he toured storm damage from Hurricane Ian in the Sunshine State on Wednesday.
The candid remark caught on video, posted online by NBC News and others, took place after Biden held a cordial press conference in Lee County with Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after touring the extensive damage caused by the hurricane.
Following the event, Biden walked over to answer questions from reporters and then greeted Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy, who thanked the president for coming down.
During their brief exchange, Biden is heard telling the mayor, "You were raised the same way I was," followed by "No one [expletive] with a Biden, and you can't argue with your brothers outside the house."
Biden joined DeSantis to let the people in Florida know the federal government was working closely with the state to help in the recovery and rebuilding efforts following the impact made by the Category 4 hurricane last week.
"We're here today with Gov. DeSantis and Sen. [Marco] Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. [Rick} Scott, R-Fla., and Congressman [Rep. Byron] Donalds, R-Fla.," Biden said. "You know, today we have one job and only one job, and that's to make sure the people of Florida get everything that they need to fully, thoroughly recover."
Biden said the damage he saw in that part of the state where Ian made landfall a week ago, would take years to rebuild and recover from.
"We're one of the few nations in the world that — on a basis of the crisis we face, we're the only nation that comes out of it better than we went into it," he said. "And that's what we're going to do this time around: Come out of it better. Because we're — this is the United States of America, and I emphasize 'united.'
"We've seen extraordinary cooperation at every level of government, as the governor has said. And the cooperation began before the storm hit. The number one priority was saving lives."
Due to the conflicting nature of their relationship, there was speculation if Biden would visit Florida and visit with DeSantis personally.
"Mr. President, welcome to Florida," DeSantis said, putting speculation to rest. "We appreciate working together across various levels of government."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.