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The Florida mayor who heard President Joe Biden drop an f-bomb at a time caught on a hot microphone has said the comment wasn’t a big deal, and just “two guys talking.”
During his tour of the Hurricane Ian disaster area on Wednesday, Biden was in a jovial conversation with Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy and seemed to forget there were news cameras nearby.
“Nobody f***s a Biden,” the president remarked, as Murphy laughed, who replied, “You’re damn right.”
The full context of Biden’s remark was not entirely clear, although he was heard to join in the remark, “and you can’t argue with your brothers outside.”
After Biden’s visit, Murphy told: NBC News that he didn’t remember what prompted the president in the conversation to “drop the bomb,” in his words, but said he wasn’t offended by the profanity.
“It wasn’t directed at anyone. It was just two guys talking,” Murphy told the outlet. ‘I didn’t care. That’s exactly the way two guys talk to each other from our respective backgrounds.’
‘We are both Irish Catholic. We are both devout Catholics. But every once in a while a bit of salty language comes out,” he added.
President Joe Biden was caught on a hot microphone when he told Fort Myers Beach mayor Ray Murphy that “nobody f***s a Biden” after comments in his city regarding hurricane recovery efforts
Murphy said Wednesday was his first meeting with Biden, adding, “which is remarkable because we know a lot of the same people.”
Murphy attended Villanova, First Lady Jill Biden’s alma mater, and the mayor’s roommate was from the president’s hometown, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The mayor, whose office is officially impartial, said in conversation with Joe Biden, they also discovered mutual connections in Rehoboth, Delaware, where the president has a beach house.
“It came one after another. We got to know each other. And for me that was great because hopefully they don’t forget about us,” Murphy said, saying he felt a kinship with the president.
Fort Myers Beach, a small town on a barrier island, saw one of the worst devastations from last week’s hurricane, which reduced much of the community to rubble.
During Wednesday’s visit, Biden made comments alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and the two put their rivalry aside for the day when they first came face to face and shook hands.
‘We are both Irish Catholic. We are both devout Catholics. But every now and then a bit of salty language comes out,” said the mayor, whose office is impartial
During Wednesday’s visit, Biden made comments alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and the two put their rivalry aside for today.
DeSantis is considered a likely candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the coming years, and has made national headlines for his vocal attacks on the Biden administration.
However, Biden and DeSantis got through their comments on Wednesday with no apparent insults on the other side, but with some veiled swipes, including on the issue of climate change.
The president almost became friends with DeSantis at one point, calling him “guv” when he took to the microphone for comments praising how well they worked together to respond to the storm’s devastation, despite insulting each other every other day. .
He also praised the Florida governor for his steps to recognize and deal with climate change.
Biden first met Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday when he visited the Sunshine State to watch the Hurricane Ian massacre. From LR: Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, Governor DeSantis, first lady Jill Biden, President Biden
The quartet was chatting Wednesday as Joe and Jill arrived for a tour of the devastation left at Fort Myers Beach by Hurricane Ian.
Biden even said at one point, referring to DeSantis, ‘I think he did a good job’
“We have a very different political philosophy,” he added, “but we’ve worked hand in hand.”
During remarks to the president, DeSantis thanked the Biden administration for covering 100 percent of the costs of “debris removal and emergency protection measures” in the 60 days after the storm’s first day hit the state.
‘Mr. Chairman, welcome to Florida. We appreciate working together at different levels of government,” DeSantis said when introducing Biden.
“Well, Guv and the first lady, thank you so much for the hospitality,” Biden said in a friendly tone as he picked up the microphone and entered the devastation he saw during his helicopter ride of the wreckage.
The hurricane killed 109 people on Tuesday — the deadliest in Florida since 1935.
About 318,000 homes and businesses are still without power Wednesday morning, a week after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida.