More and more Florida legislators such as Representatives Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) have announced their endorsements for former President Donald Trump (R) over likely candidate, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Simultaneously, the two biggest Sunshine State lawmakers, Senators Rick Scott (R) and Marco Rubio (R) have yet to make a peep concerning who they will endorse for President.
Perhaps they are both still considering a Presidential run themselves.
However, what is fact is that the two Senators did not offer commendation for Gov. DeSantis’s handling of the Ft. Lauderdale fuel shortage that has resulted in people “panic buying” and long lines around gas stations in the area.
In their respective tweets, Sens. Scott and Rubio chose their words carefully. They didn’t call out the Governor by name, but they both suggested that the situation was being neglected.
In response to a tweet that showcased statistics concerning the gas shortage – with over a majority of the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale stations without fuel – Sen. Scott alluded to the idea that not everything was being done to fix this problem.
Florida families shouldn't have uncertainty about their next tank of gas.
Every resource available should be deployed to fix this. https://t.co/BYmcQ4RORT
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 20, 2023
“Florida families shouldn't have uncertainty about their next tank of gas. Every resource available should be deployed to fix this,” stated Scott.
Sen. Rubio was a lot more impassioned on the circumstance, empathizing with the consumer panic buying due to the uncertainty of not being able to get work.
FOUR DAYS and they still can’t figure out how to get enough gasoline to South #Florida #GasShortage pic.twitter.com/P3jdQG6M5r
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 19, 2023
“What’s happening right now in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale with gasoline is crazy. You can’t find gasoline anywhere. This has been going on since Sunday, and they’re blaming it on the floods that impacted the port, and I know that was a factor, but it’s been four days. This should have been figured out by now,” stated Rubio.
He would go on to rationalize the panic buying, stating, “And they’re blaming it on consumer panic. Yeah, people are panicked because they gotta get to work. They got places to go. And you either can’t find gas or you have to wait in line for like two hours down the street, where you’re probably going to run out of gas while you’re waiting.”
Rubio concluded, “So yeah, people are panicked, and of course they’re filling up, [officials are] saying ‘don’t fill up,’ of course you’re gonna fill up because you don’t know the next time you’re gonna have to make a two-hour line. They keep saying it’s gonna get better but it’s not. They gotta get this thing fixed. This is crazy.”
Recently, Gov. DeSantis has been speaking at events across the country.
Others, such as State Senator Shevrin Jones (D-FL), questioned where DeSantis has been throughout all this, accusing him of campaigning instead of focusing on the flooding and the gas shortage.
“The Governor is traveling the country, campaigning and Broward County is damn near underwater. That’s not a Democrat Republican issue. That’s just the right thing that any person who’s leading the state of 22 million people should be doing at this moment, but that’s just not happening,” stated Sen. Jones.
Should Rubio and/or Scott share a debate stage with Ron DeSantis at some point during primary season, expect this fiasco to mentioned.
