by Wayne Besen • May 3, 2023 • Politics • Comments (0) • 460

Florida Flooding while DeSantis Flying on Vanity Tour

South Florida was recently hit with a mammoth flood. We are talking Noah’s Ark here. A rainstorm dropped 25 inches of rain on Fort Lauderdale overnight. During this nightmare, Gov. Ron DeSantis was off gallivanting across the globe to make himself appear presidential.

Back in Broward County, streets became rivers, parking lots were transformed into lakes and peoples’ homes were waterlogged. Broward County reported more than $100 million of damage, “major damage” to almost 1,100 homes and hundreds of layoffs by flooded businesses.

Yet, Gov. DeSantis was traveling on a national book tour, before he started his global vanity junket, stopping in Japan, South Korea, Israel and Great Britain.

Fort Lauderdale essentially became Atlantis on April 12. Yet, DeSantis still has not toured the flood zone in Broward County. He finally asked the federal government for disaster funds on Saturday April 22.

I wonder why? Perhaps, it’s because Broward County was only one of five Florida counties, out of 67, to vote against reelecting DeSantis. His opponent, Charlie Crist won 58-percent of the vote in Broward County and now DeSantis is obviously taking revenge. This is the most spiteful and vindictive governor in America.

In Tallahassee, the state capital, Rep. Hillary Cassel, said:

“As a representative for the majority of the district impacted by this one in a thousand-year flood, I called out Gov. DeSantis to ask where he was with his white rain boots.

It took the governor over a week to ask for federal assistance, and he has yet to visit the district. It is more important to him to run a campaign, go overseas and literally leave the state high and wet.”

Representative Cassel has still received no response.

Many Broward residents won’t be helped by traditional flood insurance because they don’t live in a flood zone. The only way they will save their property and rebuild their lives is with the help of the state and federal government. But the governor was preoccupied in Japan.

I almost never agree with Donald Trump, but he was on point when he said that DeSantis needs, “an emergency personality transplant.” I would add that the Florida governor needs an empathy transplant.

While Fort Lauderdale flood victims were floating, DeSantis was off flying. DeSantis can fly to the ends of the earth. But with stories like this coming out, I don’t think his presidential bid will get off the runway.

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about the author: Wayne Besen