A man walks with a bucket on a flooded street, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. South Florida has begun draining streets and otherwise cleaning up after an unprecedented storm that dumped upward of 2 feet of rain in a matter of hours. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Rather than visit constituents battered by 26 inches of rain and devastating floods, Gov. Ron DeSantis spent time in Ohio, Virginia, and New Hampshire, returning to Florida only to sign a six-week abortion ban.
Fort Lauderdale was pounded by a historic rainstorm last week, causing catastrophic floods that left residents trapped without power and clean water for days, shuttered schools and government offices, and even led to a 40-hour closure at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
As the city and its residents struggled to recover from the torrential downpour which brought 26 inches of rain, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was out of state, having breakfast on Thursday with members of the Summit County, Ohio, Republican Party.
DeSantis returned to Florida later in the day and declared a state of emergency for Broward County, ordering the Division of Emergency Management to help respond to the crisis.
But rather than travel to Fort Lauderdale, DeSantis spent Thursday evening signing a new six-week abortion ban into law. The law includes exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, but would force victims of rape, human trafficking and incest to provide restraining orders, police reports, or medical evidence to support their claim before they would be allowed to have an abortion.
On Friday, DeSantis—who is widely expected to run for president in 2024— once again left Florida for Virginia, where he spoke at an event at Liberty University. He then traveled to New Hampshire for a fundraiser on Friday night.
DeSantis’ travels drew criticism from all sides.
“Fort Lauderdale is under water and DeSantis is campaigning in Ohio right now instead of taking care of the people suffering in his state,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter.
The devastation in Fort Lauderdale remains ongoing, as the community struggles to deal with the fallout of the floods, which includes property damage and destruction, water-logged possessions, storm debris, and fuel shortages.
On Monday, as another strong storm hit Fort Lauderdale, DeSantis held a press conference in Lake Buena Vista to announce his latest crackdown on Disney, the state’s largest employer and one of DeSantis’ leading political foils.
While DeSantis is currently in Florida, he is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Utah Republican Party convention on April 22, before traveling to Israel next week and returning to Iowa next month, ahead of an expected 2024 campaign announcement.
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