Joe Biden took a chaotic tour of Hawaii on Monday — in keeping with his tone-deaf and error-ridden initial response to the wildfires.
Two weeks after the worst wildfires in the US in a century, the president and his wife Jill landed on Maui to be greeted with shouts of “F*** you!” as his column passed.
Some waved Trump 2024 flags.
The 80-year-old only compounded the anger by giving a garbled speech at a charred sacred Banyan tree to speak in meandering terms about his own loss – that of his wife and infant daughter in 1972 – and then referencing his own experience with a home. fire, at his home in Delaware in 2004. His home in Wilmington was struck by lightning, causing a small fire – but it did not spread beyond the kitchen.
Biden then made a clumsy joke as he greeted rescue teams, asked a dog handler if his boots were reinforced and remarked, “Hot ground.”
Joe Biden is seen in Hawaii on Monday telling an anecdote about a kitchen fire at his Delaware home in 2004
Angry Hawaiians gesture as Biden’s motorcade passed Monday
Biden hailed aid workers and joked about ‘hot ground’
Biden’s visit would always be contentious: some questioned why he hadn’t come sooner, while others wanted him to stay away and not take away resources for search and rescue efforts.
The death toll rose to 114 on Monday, with 850 still missing.
Of those 114, less than a quarter has been identified.
Biden was criticized before his visit for not giving enough attention to the wildfires.
When asked about his reaction to the fires as he left the beach in Delaware last weekend, Biden replied, “No comment.”
On Thursday, an emotional Ella Sable Tacderan fought back tears as she told CNN about her family’s suffering.
“It really hits me, because where is the president?” she asked.
“I mean, aren’t we Americans too? We are part of the United States. Why are we being put in the back pocket?
“Why are we being ignored?”
Joe and Jill Biden are leaving Maui on Monday after visiting the devastated areas
The Bidens fly over the devastation of Lahaina on Monday
Biden is seen Monday with Hawaii Governor Josh Green and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell
The Bidens are seen with the governor of Hawaii and his wife in Lahaina on Monday
Tacderan said the $700 checks handed out to each affected household were insultingly low.
“My parents received a check for $700, which was a slap in the face,” she said.
“Living in Hawaii, everything is so expensive. Groceries can run up to $700 for just one grocery run. And it’s not enough.’
She added that older families in Hawaii are essentially “computer illiterate,” which could explain why some people are “rejected” on their applications for FEMA assistance.
Some Hawaiians echoed Tacderan’s criticism on Monday, with one holding up a sign comparing aid to Ukraine and Hawaii.
Ukraine has received $1,700 per person per capita, the author calculated, since the war began in February 2022.
Biden and his wife took a helicopter tour of the affected areas before addressing a gathering of local officials, senators and community officials.
The president, as he often does when addressing communities beset by tragedy, spoke of the personal weight of devastating loss and the slow and painful process of recovery.
Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident in 1972. He lost an adult son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015.
“When things look the bleakest, we need faith,” said Biden, who spent 70 minutes talking to community members after his remarks.
He shared how first responders supported him after Neilia’s death, and praised those involved in the Hawaiian tragedy.
On another stop, he referred to the 2004 fire at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
“I don’t want to compare the difficulties, but we kind of have an idea, Jill and I, of what it’s like to lose a home,” Biden said.
“Years ago, 15 years ago now, when I was in Washington for Meet The Press, it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck a small lake outside our house—not a lake, a pond.”
He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating pipes and into the kitchen.
Long story short, I’m almost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.
“But all kidding aside – I was watching the firefighters, the way they reacted.”
It’s an anecdote Biden often tells in times of tragedy.
The fire service arrived on scene with a lot of smoke development, but was able to contain the flames.
“Fortunately, we caught it pretty early,” Cranston Heights Fire Chief George Lamborn said at the time.
‘Within 20 minutes the fire was under control.’