Joe Biden branded Governor Ron DeSantis “Donald Trump incarnate” at a fundraiser in Florida on Tuesday, perhaps indicating how Democrats intend to frame the man who could be on the Republican presidential ticket in 2024.
Speaking at an event in support of Charlie Crist, currently running against an incumbent Mr DeSantis in the Florida gubernatorial election, the president said that the current governor did not have the ability to restore decency to public life and unite the country, Bloomberg reports.
“This guy is not — he doesn’t fit any of the categories I talked about,” Mr Biden said of Mr DeSantis. “The way he deals, the way he denies.”
“Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate,” the president added, deploying the religiously loaded word often used to reference the devil.
Mr Biden also called out the Florida governor for his callous attitude that has contributed to the toxic nature of contemporary US politics and more generally criticised Republicans for their response to the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot, and the continued questioning of the results of the 2020 election.
“How can you say that you in fact care about democracy when you deny the existence of a win?” he said.
The president added that the violent rhetoric that has built up over the years was to blame for the attack last week on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, at home in San Francisco.
“Look what happened. I’m talking to Nancy Pelosi, look at what happened. Look at the response, the so-called response from Republicans, making jokes about it.”
Later that evening at a rally in Miami, Mr Biden said “everything is at stake” in next week’s election, imploring Floridians to go to the polls on Tuesday.
The Washington Post reports that preparations are underway for the president, who turns 80 later this month, to run for a second term in 2024. It is believed a decision may be made after the midterms.
Similarly, former President Donald Trump is also expected to announce another campaign for the White House once the results of Tuesday’s vote are known.
Mr DeSantis is widely believed to be eyeing a run for the presidency with a New York Times poll regarding a hypothetical 2024 primary already giving him approximately one-quarter of the Republican vote to Mr Trump’s 49 per cent — a formidable amount versus the man widely said to dominate the party.
The Florida governor has been a sharp critic of Mr Biden during his time in office but the two were forced to work together in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
During a trip to see the damage around Fort Myers, Florida, the president said: “We have very different political philosophies but we’ve worked hand-in-glove.”
Mr DeSantis complimented Mr Biden for the speedy deployment of federal disaster relief.
