In Florida, Biden wooed Trump ally DeSantis in a united manner. Reuters

Authors: Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland

BAR PORT, FL (Reuters)-On Thursday, President Joe Biden sat next to one of his fiercest critics and managed to find a glimmer of hope in the serious tragedy that brought them together.

“Do you know any benefits of this?” Biden asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis without waiting for an answer. “We let the country know that we can cooperate.”

DeSantis is a rising Republican star close to former President Donald Trump. He is at the forefront of partisan struggles around the country around the coronavirus lockdown, racial justice protests, and efforts to restrict voter access.

However, in recent days, these two competitors have come together after the collapse of a 12-story building in Surfside, Florida, which killed at least 18 people and 145 others more than a week ago. Missing and worried about death.

Biden has sent millions of federal dollars and dozens of search and rescue personnel to assist local officials in cleaning up the rubble in southern Champlain for survivors. The visit ended on Thursday.

During a brief meeting open to reporters, when he talked about unity, Biden looked DeSantis in the eyes and the governor nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” DeSantis said. “You have realized the seriousness of this tragedy from the first day, and you have been very supportive.”

“We have no bureaucracy,” nor delays in delivering federal resources to Florida, he continued.

This encounter may be important to the Biden White House because it pursues a strategy of “crossing the aisle” to build and demonstrate support for his presidency, especially for a small group of “swing” voters. This is an uphill battle for many Republicans, some of whom believe Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that voter fraud led to Biden’s victory.

This effort seemed to impress at least one observer, Moshe Horowitz, who stayed at the hotel where Biden and DeSantis met.

“There should always be a dialogue between the two sides,” the New Yorker told Reuters, as he tried to catch a glimpse of the president outside the hotel. He said he opposed Biden’s policies so far, but supported the demonstration of bipartisan cooperation.

“The meeting between DeSantis and Biden was a wonderful thing, and they should continue to do so,” he said.

In his January inaugural speech, Biden promised to “fight for those who do not support me as hard as those who support me.” He pushed the Republican Party to support his huge spending plan in Congress and emphasized visiting Republican voting states to promote infrastructure and COVID-19 vaccine. In Texas, after a deadly winter storm, he worked closely with the governor of Greg Abbott, another Trump-bound Republican, who did not initially acknowledge the Democratic election victory.

DeSantis is widely regarded as weighing the potential challenges of the 2024 presidency. He declined to comment on whether the 2020 election was manipulated as Trump claimed, but expressed dissatisfaction with the policies of the Biden administration.

His office declined to say whether he will participate in Trump’s planned campaign rally in Sarasota on Saturday.

Although Trump no longer holds public office and only hinted that he will run for president again, he continues to cast a long shadow on Republican politics. Officials close to the former president said he had instructed his team to collect relief supplies for the Surfside family at the rally.