Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed her approach to leadership during emergencies.

And it leaves much to be desired.

As Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, set to strike soon after Hurricane Helene, Harris is choosing to hurl insults at Republican Governor Ron DeSantis rather than offer assistance.

On Monday, DeSantis referred to Hurricane Milton as a “monster” and urged residents in its path to evacuate immediately. He is also managing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which tragically claimed around 20 lives.

Clearly, DeSantis has his hands full and is not in a position for political maneuvering.

However, that seems to be Harris’s focus.

Harris Chooses Insults Over Assistance

This week, NBC News reported that DeSantis had allegedly avoided calls from Harris following Hurricane Helene.

When asked about this on Monday, Harris responded, “During a crisis, any leader should set aside politics and prioritize the needs of the people. Our citizens are in desperate need of support right now, and resorting to political games in these emergency situations is utterly irresponsible and selfish.”

On the surface, Harris’s statements are commendable. In fact, she is quite right.

However, in context, her actions contradict those words, as she seems to prioritize politics over the people of Florida. A simple message offering her help would have sufficed.

Yet, she could not bring herself to do that.

DeSantis claims he is not even aware of Harris’s attempts to reach out. Instead, he has been in contact with President Joe Biden and FEMA, the agency responsible for disaster response.

In response to Harris’s criticisms, DeSantis told Fox News that the vice president “has no role in this” and has failed to engage during previous hurricanes.

“She’s been vice president for three and a half years,” DeSantis remarked. “I’ve handled various storms under this administration, and she has contributed nothing to these efforts.”

DeSantis: ‘I Won’t Engage in Political Games’

Moreover, he stated that he has worked well with both former President Donald Trump and Biden during emergencies.

“Harris is the only one trying to politicize this situation, and it appears she’s doing that for her campaign,” DeSantis continued. “I don’t have time for political games.”

In fact, Harris might owe DeSantis a thank you for his effective emergency management.

After Hurricane Helene, the governor assured that he had the situation “under control” and advocated for more federal aid to be directed towards North Carolina, which faced even tougher challenges.

During Hurricane Ian’s devastating hit on Florida two years ago, DeSantis welcomed President Biden to assess the destruction. Despite their prior political disagreements, the two were able to work collaboratively to aid those affected by the storm.

Biden even praised DeSantis, saying, “I think he’s done a good job. We may have very different political views, but we’ve worked together effectively… In handling this crisis, we were completely in sync.”

That’s what true leadership looks like during times of crisis.

Unfortunately, Harris is not stepping up to that standard.