Fort Lauderdale, one of Florida’s largest cities, has been struck with devastating historic flooding in recent days. The airport had to close for a day due to the disastrous aftermath of the flooding. Unfortunately, Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t returned to the disaster-stricken city to oversee the response, and instead attended events in various other states across the country. This has led to widespread criticism from state legislators, Democrat mayor of Fort Lauderdale, and even Republicans such as Donald Trump Jr. This absence and lack of response from DeSantis during the crisis have ignited a brewing war of words between him and President Trump.

Reports suggest that DeSantis has not contacted the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, extending the criticism of his inadequate response to the disaster. Criticism became even more intense after photographs of DeSantis sitting in a boardroom filled with uninterested staff was published on social media, showing him sitting on the sidelines during a crucial moment in the crisis.

Although DeSantis’s spokesperson reported that the governor remains fully involved even though he is not physically present in the state, locals and state leaders have expressed their outrage towards his nonchalant approach. State Senator Shevrin Jones, for one, called DeSantis’s decision not to return to Florida and go ahead with events in other states “disgraceful.”

Meanwhile, President Trump has taken the opportunity to attack DeSantis’s response through an interview with Breitbart News. He revealed that he is considering going down to Fort Lauderdale to visit first responders and assess the damage for himself. Trump also added that the severe flooding had also impacted Southeast Florida, not just Fort Lauderdale.

Furthermore, DeSantis has become the subject of a new attack ad by the Super PAC that is supporting Trump’s campaign, MAGA Inc. The ad is called “Pudding Fingers” and is directed towards reports that DeSantis had denied eating pudding with his fingers – using this to warn him against tampering with people’s Social Security and Medicare.

Pudding Fingers pic.twitter.com/PRCVAZlkw9

— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) April 14, 2023

In response, DeSantis’s outside group, Never Back Down, released an attack ad aimed at Trump and attacking him on the Second Amendment while he was speaking to the NRA.

🇺🇸📺 — WATCH: The super PAC backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with its first TV ad.

“Donald Trump is being attacked by a Democrat prosecutor in New York. So why is he spending millions attacking the Republican governor of Florida?"

– “What happened to Donald Trump?" pic.twitter.com/9m9Ru6E2w6

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) April 16, 2023