Biden is surveying hurricane’s toll from the sky and ground in Florida. DeSantis won’t see him

By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press

LIVE OAK, Fla. (AP) — President Joe Biden got a look from the sky at Hurricane Idalia’s impact across a swath of Florida before setting out on a walking tour of a city recovering from the storm. Notably absent from his schedule was any interaction with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican president candidate who suggested a meeting could hinder disaster response efforts. Biden’s federal disaster chief says her team and the governor’s team “worked collectively” to settle on the area that Biden would visit. She says, “This was a mutually agreed upon area because of the limited impact.” Biden has arrived in Live Oak for a briefing and a walk through the city.