Florida Governor Ron DeSantis claimed Tuesday that “national governance media” wanted Hurricane Ian to hit Tampa to “pursue its political agenda” regardless of those affected by the storm.
“Clearly, you have the national governance media saying they wanted to see Tampa, because they thought it would be worse for Florida,” the governor told conservative outlet Florida’s Voice in a video interview after the Cape Coral press conference. . “They don’t care about life here. If they can use it to further their political agenda, they will.
The governor’s comments followed a targeted question from the news organization’s editor-in-chief, Brendan Leslie, who asked DeSantis whether there would be “accountability in the media” for predictions that incorrectly predicted that Tampa would be badly hit by hurricanes. Will be
In response, the Republican politician noted that the media’s view represents a different way of thinking that lacks regard for the well-being of people in endangered communities.
“They do not care about the people of this state; They don’t care about the people in this community. And they don’t care what destruction lies ahead of them.”
DeSantis also clarified that “we were obviously concerned about Tampa as well” and noted that the predictions “absolutely influenced” decisions for Tampa residents to seek shelter elsewhere.
As Southwest Florida recovers from Hurricane Ian, the governor told people in the area to “hang in there.” “The flexibility is phenomenal,” he said. “I honestly think we’re going to bounce back a lot faster than anyone could have predicted.”
DeSantis concluded, “We’re here for you for the long haul, and we’ll make sure we’re doing everything we can, with whatever tools are at our disposal, in a speedy and successful recovery.” can help.”
Watch the video interview between DeSantis and The Voice of Florida above.
