DeSantis avoids Christie-like moment while surveying damage from Hurricane Ian with Biden

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis avoided a Chris Christie-like moment while surveying damage from Hurricane Ian with President Joe Biden.

Christie, the former GOP governor of New Jersey, shared a moment with an empathic President Obama on the tarmac at Atlantic City International Airport after Hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012. Some called it a "hug" or a "body hug," while others said it was not. Nevertheless, the move didn't resonate well with many GOP voters in the closing days of the 2012 election, forcing Christie to answer repeated questions about it in the future.

Christie, at the time, said he wasn't thinking about presidential politics that day, but the controversy followed him all the way to the 2016 presidential primary races.

"There are still a lot of Republican voters who still got a little thing with me about that day," Christie said at a town hall meeting in Peterborough, N.H. in 2015.

The 2012 GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, said in 2013 that he didn't place any blame on Christie, one of his campaign surrogates, for his loss in the election to Obama.

"I take responsibility for myself, and I've been a governor, and I know what happens when there's been a national disaster — and that is, you look for help from the federal government," Romney said. "You want the president and you want the other agencies of the federal government to step in and provide help."

Biden and DeSantis have traded barbs over policy in the past but found themselves side by side on Wednesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Biden greeted DeSantis with a brief handshake as he exited the motorcade in Florida. Casey DeSantis, first lady of Florida, and first lady Jill Biden were also there.

Biden applauded DeSantis for his "pretty remarkable" handling of the hurricane. 

"We've worked hand in glove," the president said. "We have very different political philosophies, but we've worked hand in glove. We've been completely lockstep, there's been no daylight."

DeSantis said officials were working to cut through red tape to address the damage. 

"We are cutting through the bureaucracy, we are cutting through the red tape," DeSantis said. "And that's from local government, state government, all the way up to the president, so we appreciate the team effort."