DeSantis struggles to shake Hurricane Idalia’s dark clouds after snub to Biden

Florida governor aims to rescue flailing presidential campaign that has been further scarred by petty and small' snub of Biden's visit

One reality of Florida politics is that a bad hurricane for the state traditionally blows good fortune for its governor. It was true for Rick Scott, elected a senator in November 2018, one month after guiding Florida through Category 5 Hurricane Michael; and again for Ron DeSantis, whose landslide re-election last year followed his much-praised handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

This year, however, DeSantis is struggling to shake the dark clouds of Hurricane Idalia, as his return to the national stage to try to rescue his flailing presidential campaign after an 11-day break has been further scarred by his petty and small" snub of Joe Biden's visit to Florida last weekend to survey the storm's damage.