Ron DeSantis’ office gutted claims by Democrats in Florida that the governor staged his news conference on hurricane cleanup efforts with additional debris.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried made the wild claim that DeSantis’ team had workers place more debris behind the podium where he was speaking on Sunday to make the situation look more dire.
But DeSantis’ staff was quick to reject Fried’s classification of the video, pointing out that the massive pile of debris on Treasure Island, Florida, was already being piled up for removal in the same area where the Governor was holding his press conference.
There is tons of debris across the state of Florida after it was hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton in the span of just over a week.
Governor DeSantis has leveraged state of Florida assets for removal efforts.
Florida’s Democratic Party chairwoman accused Gov. Ron DeSantis of moving more debris behind him during a news conference on debris cleanup on Treasure Island, Florida.
Florida National Guard troops help clear debris and stack it for removal on Treasure Island, Florida, over the weekend ahead of DeSantis’ news conference.
“Caught on today’s livestream: adding debris behind the podium before DeSantis’ presser,” Fried wrote in X.
“Ron has no shame,” he continued, “he’s spent weeks accusing everyone else of politicizing this disaster while ordering workers to dress up his press conference.”
A source close to DeSantis’ office told DailyMail.com that the level at which the state government is helping with debris collection and removal is unprecedented. Cleanup after a storm is typically left to local governments.
“Debris was being added to the pile because that is a real workplace,” DeSantis communications director Bryan Griffin wrote in X.
He noted that DeSantis deployed the Florida National Guard, seen in the video, “to help locals clear the debris” and said it’s Fried who has “no shame.”
“We were there to announce state initiatives to help you move even faster,” Griffin concluded in explaining why debris was seen being added to a pile on the livestream before DeSantis’ briefing.
The governor’s press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, added in his furious response to Fried: “Of course they are adding rubble to the pile. It’s to make it easier for them to pick it up with the giant claw and put it in the back of a truck.’
“You’d know if you were helping the community instead of complaining about Ron DeSantis online,” he concluded on X.
Christina Pushaw, also on DeSantis’ team, helped continue the backlash over Fried’s post.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried accused DeSantis of placing debris behind the podium during a news conference over the weekend.
‘So you are claiming that there is NO real rubble for you to stand in front of?’ Because everyone who has been in any of the areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton knows that that is a lie,” he responded to Fried’s X publication.
“The reality: Debris like this is everywhere, and Floridians are being misled for political purposes,” he added. “If you logged out for a few hours and tried to help your fellow Floridians affected by these storms, you could go to Treasure Island yourself and see how bad it is.”
“The workers in this video are placing the debris into a pile to make it easier for the team to transport and dispose of it.”
The federal government says it will cover 100% of debris removal costs for 90 days, so DeSantis is trying to accelerate efforts to make sure the cost isn’t passed on to the state or localities after those three months are up.