A video of a man in Florida stood on the street topless waving a “F*ck Biden” flag during the height of Hurricane Ian has gone viral.
The brief video shows the man withstanding the powerful gales during the hurricane while someone records him.
Most prominently, the flag says “F*** Biden” but beneath it, it also reads “and F*** you for voting for him,” in reference to President Joe Biden’s election win.
The video, posted on Wednesday by the Twitter page RedHat Pitbull 3, has so far been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
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The page creator also claimed to be the individual in the video and added in the comments: “I already know I’m an idiot but just felt the need. Taken right before the eye hit.”
In a subsequent tweet they added: “8:30 p.m. update. The Pitbull and family is pas the worst of Hurricane Ian. Prayers for Florida.”
In contrast to the comedic nature of this clip, other videos of the storm highlighted the destructive nature of the 150 mph wind Category 4 hurricane, however.
As homes were destroyed by the hurricane, some footage showed only the roofs of buildings peaking out of the water. One video posted to Facebook also showed vehicles submerged in a parking garage in Naples as water continued to pour in.
Taylor Wirtz, a news anchor for WINK News, shared a video that captured water climbing up the first floor of a hotel. “Looks like the inside of the Titanic. Cars are fully underwater,” she wrote on Twitter.
Florida officials had predicted Ian, a Category 4 storm with winds just shy of Category 5, would produce a “catastrophic” storm surge, which the National Hurricane Center (NHC) describes as “an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tides.”
“Along the coast, storm surge is often the greatest threat to life and property from a hurricane,” the NHC’s website says. Hurricane Katrina is often pointed to as the most notable example of the devastation caused by a storm surge.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday said he had spoken to President Biden about the hurricane and the President said said he would provide help.
While speaking on Fox News, host Tucker Carlson spoke to DeSantis and said states generally always receive federal aid when a natural disaster hits and asked whether Florida could expect the same treatment due to ongoing political tension.
“So, I actually spoke with the President, and he said he wants to be helpful,” DeSantis said.
“So, we did submit a request for reimbursement for the next 60 days at 100 percent. That’s significant support, but it’s a significant storm.”
DeSantis was referring to Florida’s application for federal assistance to deal with the disaster.
“We haven’t heard back from him,” the governor said. “But I’m actually cautiously optimistic that we do. As you say, Tucker, we live in a very politicized time.”
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