Biden sees Milton damages at $50 billion

By Akayla Gardner and Skylar Woodhouse

President Joe Biden said the damage from Hurricane Milton alone could be around $50 billion as he prepares to see the devastation from the powerful storm firsthand during a visit to Florida this weekend.

Biden spoke Friday at the White House. He and Vice President Kamala Harris received a briefing on recovery efforts from Milton, the second storm to strike Florida in recent weeks, bringing new devastation to a state still recovering from the blow dealt by Hurricane Helene last month.

The president will travel to Florida on Sunday to see the damage from the storm firsthand. The trip is part of an effort by Biden and Harris to assure voters that they are doing all that they can to help with the response and recovery — and counter claims from Republican former President Donald Trump that the administration is not doing enough.

The back-to-back storms have become a political issue in the race for the White House between Harris and Trump with Election Day less than a month away. Harris, who is campaigning in the swing-state of Arizona, joined Friday’s briefing virtually.

The vice president repeated her warnings to companies against price gouging — an issue she has made a major target of her economic agenda.

“To any company or individual that is using this crisis to jack up prices through illegal fraud or price gouging, whether it be at the gas pump, the airport or the hotel counter, we will be monitoring and there will be a consequence,” Harris said.

Trump has accused the administration of not doing enough to aid storm victims, including spreading false claims about the amount of assistance being offered. Biden, who has castigated Trump for those comments, lashed out again, calling misinformation about the federal response “disgusting.”

Milton hammered Florida after making landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane. While Milton’s storm surge was lower than expected, the hurricane still left a path of destruction across the state. At least 10 people died, millions were without power, operations at the Port of Tampa were disrupted and homes and crops were destroyed.

The full scope of Milton’s destruction won’t be known for days. Damages and losses are anticipated to range from $60 billion to $75 billion, according to Chuck Watson, a Enki Research disaster modeler.

Biden on Friday said the US Coast Guard was leading efforts to reopen the port and he said work was underway to help restore power to communities hit by Milton. About 2.2 million customers are without power across the state of Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.

Trump on Friday said that if elected he would provide a tax break for consumers who purchase a generator for their homes, allowing them to fully deduct the total cost for tax purposes. The break would be retroactive to Sept. 1, 2024 and be available until August 31, 2025, Trump said, announcing the proposal in a post on his Truth Social network and citing it as a step to help parts of the country prone to storms.

Florida Trip

The White House announced Biden’s plans to travel to Florida in a statement on Friday.

It’s unclear if Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will meet with Biden during his visit Sunday, but when asked about the possibility, Biden said “if he’s available, yeah.”

“He’s been very cooporative, we’ve gotten along very very well,” Biden said.

DeSantis joined the president in 2022 when they surveyed the damage from another powerful storm, Hurricane Ian, and in 2021 after the Surfside building collapse.

They did not meet when Biden visited the state earlier this month, but the president has said the two have spoken by phone to address Milton. DeSantis sought the GOP presidential nomination this cycle before dropping out and endorsing Trump.

Milton followed Hurricane Helene, which hit the US southeast last month, ripped across several states including the election battlegrounds of Georgia and North Carolina and killed more than 230 people.

The president has held daily briefings and spoken from the White House this week ahead of Milton and in the aftermath of the storm, including urging Congress to return early from a pre-election recess to pass additional aid. House Speaker Mike Johnson has discounted that idea, meaning negotiations over funding are unlikely before November’s election.