Joe Biden drew more criticism for being “out of touch” with Americans during his bumpy stop in Maui Monday — including contempt for providing paltry $700 relief checks.
The White House has announced that every affected household in Hawaii will receive a $700 check to cover “immediate needs,” including water, food and clothing.
But it’s an amount that many islanders consider offensive.
Hawaii residents and politicians say a meager $700 check for every family affected by devastating wildfires isn’t enough.
And some residents even held up signs during Biden’s visit Monday comparing aid to Ukraine and Hawaii.
Biden passed a poster that read, “Really $7?” Another resident wrote “Action speaks louder than words,” and there were multiple “No Comment” signs — after the president repeatedly declined to comment on the tragedy last week.
So far, Biden has approved $8.2 million in aid to 2,700 households in Hawaii. But critics have been quick to compare that to the $12.1 billion in security aid that has gone to Ukraine so far this year.
People watch as the motorcade passes by carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires. One local gives the president a thumbs down
People hold signs as Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the fire-ravaged city of Lahaina
The Bidens are seen with the governor of Hawaii and his wife in Lahaina on Monday
Former Hawaii Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard called the $700 checks a “slap in the face.”
“Unfortunately, once again there has been a lack of confidence because not only have people not shown up, but it was almost a slap in the face to the people there when the big announcement from FEMA was, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you a one-time payment of $700.”
“Anyone who has been to Hawaii knows that $700 doesn’t get very far at a time when so many have lost everything,” she continued.
Ella Sable Tacderan, victim of the fires, said earlier this week that $700 is not enough.
“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 actually “computer illiterate,” which could explain why some people are “rejected” from their applications for FEMA assistance.
Another user, now known as ‘X’, wrote on Twitter: ‘So little contact. People in Lahaina lost everything they had including loved ones and he stood there joking and making it all about him! Still cringing.”
“Don’t forget he paid them a one-time payment of $700, which wouldn’t even have covered the cost of repairing Joe’s kitchen,” said another critic.
“If I had lost my home and my livelihood, I would be offended if Biden sent me a $700 check.”
The president also sparked outrage when he was on the island by comparing the Hawaiian fire that killed at least 114 people to a kitchen fire — and joking about “hot ground” to a rescuer.
The president’s motorcade was greeted with shouts of “f*** you” after it finally arrived in Maui – two weeks after the inferno that left 850 people missing and devastated the historic city of Lahaina.
Biden exacerbated the anger in a distorted, meandering speech about the death of his wife and daughter in 1972, before comparing the gruesome fire to a kitchen fire at his Delaware house in 2004.
The 80-year-old concluded his disastrous five-hour trek by asking a rescue team if their boots had been reinforced, noting the “hot ground” beneath their feet in a tone-deaf attempt at humour.
He also had a particularly awkward moment with Democratic Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz when Schatz offered him a sip of water at the end of a press conference.
Biden completely ignored the senator and turned his back on him.
Then he began to shuffle away, gazing listlessly into the crowd, mouth open, as his wife Jill and Hawaii Governor Josh Green led him away from the lectern.
The president was criticized before his visit for not paying enough attention to the wildfires, and accused of a slow response to the crisis.
When Biden was asked about his reaction to the fires last weekend as he left the beach in Delaware, he replied, “No comment.”
He also seemed to forget the name Maui, repeatedly referring to fires blazing on “the Big Island.”
Biden and his wife took a helicopter tour of the affected areas before addressing a gathering of local officials, senators and community officials. Biden did not speak to the media present.
Biden is seen looking at a burnt vehicle in Lahaina. The X-spray on the side means a search for human remains
People watch as the motorcade passes by carrying President Joe Biden to visit areas devastated by the Maui wildfires
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,” said George Lamborn, Chief of the Cranston Heights Fire Department at the time.
‘Within 20 minutes the fire was under control.’
Joe and Jill Biden wave goodbye Monday as they board Air Force One to leave Maui
The Bidens left Hawaii to return to Lake Tahoe and resume their vacation
The wildfire that broke out in the city of Lahaina on August 8 is now the deadliest in more than a century and the fifth deadliest on record for the US.
Biden first gave his “no comment” while staying on the beach near his Delaware home.
While being passed by reporters, he made a curt remark saying he was “watching it.”
Back at the White House, a reporter asked Biden at the White House, “Can you tell us about your trip to Hawaii?”
“No, not now,” Biden said, before staff finally released details.
The president has appointed Bob Fenton, a regional leader with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as chief of the federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires to ensure that someone from his administration will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.