In one of the most talked about moments of the president’s visit to Florida to assess the damage from the powerful storm, Biden commented how Ian and other natural disasters occurring across the United States have “finally ended” the discussion on whether climate change is genuine and actions need to be taken to prevent further catastrophes.
DeSantis stood behind Biden while he made the comment, appearing to shuffle awkwardly at the president’s pointed remarks.
In the past, the Republican governor has taken steps to protect Florida from rising sea levels and coastal flooding, such as last December’s $270 million “Always Ready” project, without making specific references to the plans being a response to global warming or climate change, referring to the terms as “left-wing stuff.”
Michael Binder, a professor of political science at the University of North Florida, said that while Biden was able to score some “political points” by specifically addressing climate change in front of DeSantis following days of bipartisan unity as Hurricane Ian approached, the comments could have a greater impact for the Florida governor.
“DeSantis being from a state with real-life sea level rise issues, particularly south Florida, this puts him in a very difficult position. Democrats have done a great job on this conversation, such that the basic understanding is that if you acknowledge climate change, you must take X, Y and Z policy steps,” Binder told Newsweek.
“Republicans, DeSantis especially, [are] not supportive of those policy steps and therefore [are] boxed in and in some ways prevented from acknowledging the existence of climate change. As evidence mounts and people (i.e. voters) are more and more exposed to the reality that the world around us is evolving, Republicans are squeezed more and more.”
Joshua Scacco, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida, also noted how DeSantis and other officials in Florida acknowledge the challenges associated with the effects of climate change without using the specific term to avoid “partisan resonance” the phrase carry.
“This allows the governor to address some of its critical effects without disrupting the existing partisan means evoked by the climate change/global warming label,” Scacco told Newsweek.
“The governor still disparages the terminology while implementing policies to address the effects of climate change. Biden may have been calling attention to these efforts, while drawing out the governor to illustrate that DeSantis is—in fact—a believer in climate change. Even if the governor does not use the same language and phrasing.”
However, Binder said discussions of climate change post-Hurricane Ian will not alter the outcome of November’s Florida gubernatorial election, where DeSantis is hoping to be re-elected, or even the 2024 presidential election, where the governor is considered one of the favorites alongside Donald Trump to announce his intention to run for the GOP nomination.
“I don’t think nearly enough Republicans and Independents have come far enough for this issue to outweigh the many other issues voters have to grapple with,” he said.
Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis for comment.
