Who can forget the cringeworthy Chris Christie moment in the aftermath of the Hurricane Sandy disaster that devastated New Jersey when Christie hugged Obama in the lead up to the 2012 election.
Christie also lavished praise on Obama thanking him for his leadership saying, “I can’t thank the President enough.”
Obama went on to win reelection soon after.
The awkward moment continues to haunt Christie over 10 years later, with Vivek Ramaswamy slamming the former New Jersey Governor at the GOP presidential debate.
Ramaswamy told Christie, “Come on over and give me a hug… give me a hug just like you did to Obama. And you’ll help get elect me just like you did for Obama too.”
Funniest line
“Give me a hug just like you did to Obama and you’ll help elect me just like you did to Obama”
#VivekRamaswamy pic.twitter.com/HeYIUwxIj1
— ♱ ن (@45LVNancy) August 24, 2023
It appears that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is hoping to avoid a similar troubling visual.
Biden’s Saturday plans include touring Hurricane Idalia’s damage in Florida, but he will do it without DeSantis.
Gov. DeSantis’ office has refuted the president’s claim that he would be meeting with the governor during the visit.
DeSantis suggested that a meeting between the two could hinder disaster response.
ABC News reports, “In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement to CNN.
DeSantis’ office says he doesn’t plan to meet with Biden when he comes to Florida over the weekend | Just The News https://t.co/tUMRcD1Uke
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) September 2, 2023
According to the outlet, Biden had told CNN that he would be meeting with DeSantis over the weekend, contradicting the office’s statement.
White House spokesperson Emilie Simons told CNN that Biden’s visit to Florida was carefully planned not to disrupt the recovery efforts that are going on in Florida due to the storm.
“President Biden and the First Lady look forward to meeting members of the community impacted by Hurricane Idalia and surveying impacts of the storm,” Simons said in her statement. “They will be joined by Administrator (Deanne) Criswell who is overseeing the federal response. Their visit to Florida has been planned in close coordination with FEMA as well as state and local leaders to ensure there is no impact on response operations.”