Biden struck an odd tone near the site of the Florida building collapse Thursday as he talked about finding a “good” side to the disaster that left at least 18 dead and nearly 150 missing.
“You know what’s good about this?” Biden said at a briefing with local leaders. “It lets the nation know we can cooperate and when it’s really important.”
Biden added, “I just got back from 12 days in Europe. You wonder whether we can do this. And you’re doing it. I mean, just the simple act of everybody doing whatever needs to be done.”
Eighteen bodies have been recovered from the rubble and 145 people remain missing and are feared dead after the collapse of the beachfront building in Surfside, north of Miami.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, sitting to Biden’s right at a table in Surfside, thanked the president for federal support in the eight-day rescue operation, which was paused Thursday due to safety concerns.
“This is your show. We just want to make sure [you have] whatever you need,” Biden told DeSantis.