President Biden struck an odd tone near the site of the Florida building collapse Thursday as he talked about finding a “good” side to the disaster that left at least 18 dead and nearly 150 missing.
“You know what’s good about this?” Biden said at a briefing with local leaders. “It lets the nation know we can cooperate and when it’s really important.”
Biden added, “I just got back from 12 days in Europe. You wonder whether we can do this. And you’re doing it. I mean, just the simple act of everybody doing whatever needs to be done.”
Eighteen bodies have been recovered from the rubble and 145 people remain missing and are feared dead after the collapse of the beachfront building in Surfside, north of Miami.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, sitting to Biden’s right at a table in Surfside, thanked the president for federal support in the eight-day rescue operation, which was paused Thursday due to safety concerns.
“This is your show. We just want to make sure [you have] whatever you need,” Biden told DeSantis.
DeSantis applauded the federal response, saying, “You guys have not only been supportive at the federal level, but we’ve had no bureaucracy. When we’re dealing with FEMA, we’re literally getting requests routed from local to state to federal in no time and the approval is happening.”
The Republican governor added, “What we just need now is we need a little bit of luck and a little bit of prayers, and we would like to be able to see some miracles happen.”
Biden is expected to meet privately with the family members of victims Thursday afternoon before returning to the White House.
During a brief pep talk to local police and other emergency response workers around noon, Biden said, “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” before veering off topic.
“As you all know, it’s not only what you’re dealing with now, but your brothers and sisters across this country are having more pressure put on them because of the drought, because when you have 121 degrees heats up in Vancouver you really got a problem,” Biden said.
“I was on the Zoom call yesterday with all the Western governors and you know what they’re asking for? They need more firefighters… because, you know, last year the fire season didn’t start this early. And enough places burned down, enough territory burned to the ground — more than, bigger than the size of Rhode Island. And already it’s started early.”
Biden also told the emergency personnel about how his first wife and daughter were killed in a 1972 car accident, with the “jaws of life” being used to free his two young sons.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden’s goal for the trip is to “offer up comfort and show unity” in response to the disaster.
“The White House and FEMA have been in close contact with the governor’s team to coordinate federal assistance throughout the entire process,” Jean-Pierre said.
DeSantis is widely regarded as a leading potential 2024 presidential candidate. Former President Donald Trump also said that if he chooses to run again, he would consider DeSantis as a running mate.
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