JUNE 28, 2021
Democratic leaders in south Florida are pushing back against a Washington Post reporter who suggested Saturday that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) should be blamed for delaying the emergency response to the tragic condominium collapse in a Miami suburb.
Interestingly, the false accusation came as the media are directing increased attacks at DeSantis, claiming he could be worse than former President Donald Trump.
What were the accusations?
Hannah Dreier, a national reporter for the Washington Post, suggested that DeSantis blocked emergency responders from acting for one whole day.
"There's a saying in emergency management: The first 24 hours are the only 24 hours. FEMA was ready to deploy to the condo collapse almost immediately, and included the crisis in its daily briefing, but didn't get permission from Gov. DeSantis to get on the ground for a full day," Dreier claimed.
Dreier pointed to a FEMA briefing sheet that said, "There have been no requests for state or FEMA assistance."
What is the truth?
Jared Moskowitz, a Democratic politician who served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and voted for President Joe Biden, called Dreier's claims "100% Malarkey."
Moskowitz explained, "FEMA's mantra is 'locally executed, state managed, and federal supported.' As the former director in FL who voted for Biden this tweet below is 100% Malarkey. FEMA would have deployed the federally funded USAR teams, which are located in @MiamiDadeCounty. They were already there."
Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) confirmed emergency aid has not been withheld.
"We are very grateful. Not only the state of Florida has been here in force but the president, on the morning of the disaster, called to offer all possible assistance and by the end of that day, we had FEMA approval," Cava explained. "So, we're working super hard to get everything we need and we have not lacked for any support as well as support from around the world."
In fact, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, who leads the city where the disaster happened, said emergency responders are "drowning in resources."
Indeed, DeSantis signed an emergency order less than one hour after Cava signed an emergency order.
Dreier has neither deleted her tweet nor apologized despite being repeatedly corrected.
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