Selfish individuals often project their own behavior onto others. In times of crisis, it’s difficult not to feel a sense of justified outrage when faced with such deflections.
On Monday’s episode of Hannity on Fox News, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called Vice President Kamala Harris “delusional” after she accused him of selfishness and playing “political games” as Hurricane Milton threatened Florida’s western coast.
The segment began with host Sean Hannity playing a clip of Harris addressing reporters. When asked about a report from NBC that DeSantis had ignored her phone calls ahead of the hurricane, Harris responded with what DeSantis later dismissed as self-serving rhetoric.
“People are in desperate need of support right now, and playing political games with this moment, in these crisis situations — these are the height of emergency situations — is just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first,” Harris stated.
DeSantis, unimpressed with her remarks, fired back: “For Kamala Harris to try to say that my sole focus on the people of Florida is somehow selfish is delusional.”
“She has no role in this. In fact, she’s been vice president for three-and-a-half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts. And so what I think is selfish is her trying to blunder into this,” DeSantis continued.
Hannity seized on the governor’s statement, twice interrupting to ask if Harris had ever reached out to him during prior hurricanes.
“No,” DeSantis answered. “She has no role in this process.”
DeSantis further explained that while he had no issues working with former President Donald Trump and currently has no issues with President Joe Biden when it comes to hurricane relief, Harris has consistently politicized these situations for her own benefit.
“I don’t have time for political games,” DeSantis stated firmly. “She is being selfish by trying to blunder into this when we’re working just fine.”
The full interview can be viewed on YouTube, with DeSantis’s relevant remarks starting around the 3:30 mark.
The key issue here isn’t about who cares more for hurricane victims. What matters is the accusation of selfishness, and on this point, there should be clarity.
DeSantis, during the interview, gained no obvious political benefit from praising Biden’s assistance, suggesting that his acknowledgment was based in truth. If his claims about Harris never previously contacting him regarding hurricanes are accurate — and given his willingness to praise Biden, it stands to reason that DeSantis is being honest — the conclusion is inescapable: Harris’s call was politically motivated.
In short, Harris’s comments about DeSantis’s selfishness were nothing more than projection.
