ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Sunday at the devastation inflicted on Florida's Gulf Coast by Hurricane Milton as he presses Congress to approve additional emergency disaster funding. Vice President Kamala Harris was spending a second day in North Carolina, hard-hit by Hurricane Helene, to worship with Black churchgoers and hold a campaign rally.
Biden arrived in Tampa and flew by helicopter to St. Pete Beach, surveying the wreckage left behind by Milton, including the roof of Tropicana Field that was shorn off by the powerful storm's winds. Later, as the president’s motorcade drove along the highway, piles of debris, tattered billboards, toppled fences, fallen trees and closed gas stations were seen. It passed through a neighborhood where almost every home had water damage and heaps of belongings were on the curb.
Biden was also briefed by federal, state, and local officials in St. Pete Beach before greeting first responders and locals.
After giving remarks, the president was then scheduled to head back to MacDill Air Force Base before leaving Florida for Philadelphia International Airport.
AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK contributed to this report.