With Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in California for the second 2024 GOP Primary debate and hosting a fundraiser the next day, he will not be present for a memorial service to the victims of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers on September 28th. Journalist and activist Laura Loomer, a vocal critic of Gov. DeSantis, chastised him in an X (formerly Twitter) post, calling his absence "shameful."
SCCOP: .@RonDeSantis will be skipping the First ever Fort Myers Beach remembrance ceremony this week on September 28th because he will be fundraising for his failed Presidential campaign in California instead. He will he having a fundraiser in CA hosted by GOP fundraiser… pic.twitter.com/44j4Fcq1ll
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 23, 2023
"SCCOP: @RonDeSantis will be skipping the First ever Fort Myers Beach remembrance ceremony this week on September 28th because he will be fundraising for his failed Presidential campaign in California instead. He will be having a fundraiser in CA hosted by GOP fundraiser @AnnKramerAssoc," Loomer tweeted, referring to Republican fundraising group Kramer & Associates.
Approximately 149 people perished from Hurricane Ian last September, nearly half of which (71) were in Fort Myers' Lee County.
The Fort Myers memorial service, as noted by Loomer; will be held in Bayside Park and include speakers such as Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and State Representative Spencer Roach.
Because DeSantis will not be present, Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez will speak on his behalf. Loomer called Nunez "Trump-hating," evidently referring to her initial dislike of Trump early on in 2016, where she called the former President a "conman" and added a "supports [the Ku Klux Klan]" hashtag in a tweet. Nunez, however, came around and endorsed Trump in 2020, even serving as Co-Chair of the Latinos for Trump group.
"DeSantis was asked to speak since many other Florida officials will be speaking. And as Governor of Florida, he declined, because he prefers to raise money in California for his failed Presidential campaign that is going nowhere. Instead, I’m told he’s decided to send our Trump-hating Lt. Governor @JeanetteNunezFL …whose name isn’t even on the invite because DeSantis has moved on from caring about Florida and Hurricane victims aren’t a priority of his anymore. Shameful," Loomer's tweet concluded.
