Kamala Harris is doing her best to appear large and in charge in the final weeks before the election. President Joe Biden no longer appears interested in helping her maintain the illusion.
Harris recently made a stink about her inability to work with authorities in Florida on hurricane relief efforts. Within hours, Biden announced that he was in touch with Gov. Ron DeSantis and ready to succeed where his former running mate had failed.
While Biden's team maintains that the president wants Harris to succeed, this turn of events amounts to yet another signal that Harris' boss is at the very least subconsciously working to sabotage her.
The Biden-Harris administration's response to Hurricane Helene has largely been a catastrophe. Apparently keen for a clean slate and a second chance, Harris set her sights on Florida, where Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday.
A White House official told CNN that Harris has been unsuccessfully attempting to get in touch with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to discuss storm preparation and recovery.
'It's not about you, Kamala.'
On Monday, Harris suggested that DeSantis was engaged in politics as opposed to crisis management.
"Moments of crisis, if nothing else, should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader says they're going to put politics aside and put the people first," said Harris, evidently enraged by her alleged ghosting.
"People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games at this moment, in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — is just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is putting the people first," added Harris.
DeSantis, who has been in contact with Federal Emergency Management Director Deanne Criswell, said in an interview Monday that while Harris has been griping about missed calls, he has been hard at work "helping people prepare for Hurricane Helene, helping effectuate rescues of people after Hurricane Helene, helping people pick up the pieces of their lives after Helene, and then have to also turn around and prepare for major impacts and maybe even more impacts from Hurricane Milton."
"My focus has not been on dealing with Kamala Harris," continued the governor. "I didn't know she tried to contact me, but I'd also say, it's not about you, Kamala."
DeSantis stressed that whereas Trump and Biden have refrained from politicizing storms in past years, Kamala Harris has apparently chosen now as the first time to call — "to parachute in and inject herself when she's never shown any interest in the past."
Amid the kerfuffle, Biden announced that DeSantis had taken his call — a signal that notwithstanding his decrepitude, Biden was still running the show.
'He's def voting for Trump.'
"Tonight, I spoke with Florida Governor DeSantis and Tampa Mayor [Jane] Castor for firsthand reports on Hurricane Helene recovery and preparations for Hurricane Milton," Biden wrote on X. "My Administration is ready to support both leaders and the people of Florida with any further resources they may need."
Whereas in the past, Biden has emphatically used the term "Biden-Harris administration," there were no traces of the vice president in the president's messaging.
Biden added, "I also spoke with National Weather Service Director Ken Graham regarding the expected impacts of Hurricane Milton for the state of Florida. I urge all those in the storm's path to evacuate now while it is safe to do so."
Christina Pushaw, an aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), noted Tuesday, "Governor DeSantis & President Biden spoke last night. There is a chain of command when it comes to disaster response, which Florida is very familiar with. VP Harris is not part of that chain of command; the President is. If Harris doesn't understand that, she isn't prepared."
Pushaw also retweeted the following message: "For all of your losers saying @GovRonDeSantis was playing politics, he spoke to the ACTUAL POTUS. Have a seat."
Keen observers concluded on the basis of the timing and phrasing of the post that Biden, who just weeks ago donned a red Trump 2024 hat, is "just trolling Kamala at this point."
Charles Cooke, senior editor at the National Review, noted, "Harris under the bus."
One user quipped, "He's def voting for Trump."
DeSantis' call with Biden amounts to another messaging defeat for the Harris campaign, which is desperate for Harris to take starring roles before the election.
Harris aides recently suggested to CNN that they want Biden out of the picture so that Harris won't be seen running as an extension of the president. When, for instance, Biden went to North Carolina last week to survey the damage, Harris' allies felt she was robbed of an opportunity to make her presence known in a state she stands a good chance of losing.
Harris was also looking forward to taking center stage when Biden jets off to Germany; however, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed Tuesday afternoon that Biden will instead be hanging around "in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton."
Biden has also been torpedoing Harris' effort to distance herself from the current administration's failures.
During Harris' debate with Trump, she apparently enjoyed a boost when she said, "Clearly, I am not Joe Biden."
Biden kindly responded last week by emphasizing, "She was a major player in everything we've done."
"She's been, and her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we're doing," added Biden.
Despite the appearance that Biden is setting trip wires for the woman who unceremoniously replaced him, one of the president's senior advisers claimed, "The president is all in to help get the vice president elected."
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A man from Milton, Ontario, in Canada has been charged with second-degree murder after shooting a man who was trying to rob his home, as part of a five-man home invasion, according to the Toronto Star. One intruder was pronounced dead after being shot, and one more was arrested, while the remaining three are still at large.
At approximately 5 a.m., the suspects went to the house with the intent to commit robbery, according to police. The group was confronted by the man charged with the murder offense, Ali Mian, 22, and multiple gunshots were fired inside the home.
According to Mian's lawyer, Jag Virk, Mian lives with his mother, who was being attacked by one of the intruders, who was in possession of a firearm during the invasion.
“The intruder had a gun and was attacking his mother,” Virk said.
The lawyer also told the outlet that Mian's gun is legally registered and that he only fired it once without the intention to kill. After shooting the armed man, Mian allegedly called the police.
The intruder, who was shot and killed, has not been identified by police. However, one of the alleged home invaders has been identified as Romario Clarke, 20, and charged with breaking and entering and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Police were only able to identify the group's getaway car as a light-colored Dodge Charger.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously said in 2022 that citizens can't use guns for "self-protection" in the country.
"We have a culture where the difference is, guns can be used for hunting or for sport-shooting in Canada, and there are lots of gun owners, and they're mostly law-respecting and law abiding, but you can't use a gun for self-protection in Canada. That's not a right that you have in the Constitution or anywhere else," Trudeau said.
\u201cCLASSIC VIDEO: Justin Trudeau says you DON\u2019T have the right to self defense with a gun in Canada.\n\u201d— An0maly (@An0maly) 1655070113
Halton Region is no stranger to controversy, even with its police force once coming under scrutiny in 2017 for encouraging pronoun use among residents. Halton Police told the public to ask others what their "preferred pronouns" are — and took it a step further by publishing a "Handy Guide to Pronouns."
This is the same region in which the school board has asked students to walk to to school and even wear an extra sweater so administrators can turn down the heat in their schools to "fight climate change."
In addition, Halton District also employs the infamous teacher with gigantic, prosthetic breasts, defending the teacher's gender identity despite public outcry and international condemnation.
Both Mian and the arrested intruder are awaiting trial.
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\u201cUPDATE - MILTON SHOOTING: @HaltonPolice forensics o/s of early a.m. fatal shooting on Gibson Cres #Milton . One adult male suspect dead, 2nd in custody along with an occupant of home, after 2 suspects entered the home \u2014 multiple shots fired. A gun was recovered outfront the home.\u201d— Graham Paine (@Graham Paine) 1676832037
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