Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggesting the Republican is “playing political games” and engaging in “political gamesmanship” over the federal response to Hurricane Helene’s destruction.

Harris’ office said the vice president reached out to DeSantis last week in the storm’s aftermath but that the pair never spoke.

DeSantis said Monday that he “didn’t know that she had called” and “they didn’t call me.”

The governor added, “It wasn’t anything anybody in my office did in saying that it was political.”

A short time later, as she was boarding Air Force Two to fly to New York, Harris was asked about DeSantis and responded, “People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games at this moment in these crisis situations … is utterly irresponsible.”

“It is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first,” Harris said without naming DeSantis.

Harris also criticized her opponent, former President Donald Trump, for spreading falsehoods about the federal response in the wake of Helene.

“There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, particularly to the survivors of Helene,” Harris said. “It’s extraordinarily irresponsible. It’s about him. It’s not about you.”

Trump has falsely claimed that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims, and far-right extremist groups have warned without evidence that officials plan to bulldoze affected communities and seize the land from residents.

The vice president said, “The reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them now and resources that are about helping people get back on their feet and rebuild and have places to go.”

“People are entitled to these resources, and it is critically important that people apply for the help that is there to support,” Harris added. “All those resources were created for just these types of moments, in an emergency situation, knowing that folks are entitled to have the relief that they so rightly need.”