Fury as Joe Biden posts ‘heartless’ New Year’s message after New Orleans terror attack

President Joe Biden is being criticized for his “tone deaf” response after an overnight tragedy left at least 10 dead and 30 others injured at a New Year’s Eve celebration in New Orleans.

Biden’s first message on X in 2025 was a simple “Happy New Year, folks” at 10 a.m. ET.

That’s hours after the alleged attacker drove into a cheerful crowd on Bourbon Street around 3 a.m. local time.

Furious social media users immediately pointed out his ‘heartless’ blunder, calling it callous and insensitive.

“Joe Biden is a heartless pos,” one user wrote. “People were killed in a terrorist attack, and he just tweeted, ‘Happy New Year, folks.’ January 20 can’t come soon enough.’

Another wrote in disbelief: “This is President Joe Biden’s first post of the day. No mention of New Orleans or the victims. [Shaking my head].’

“It’s completely clunky and tone-deaf,” chimed in user @LetsGetRandy.

The president had not directly discussed the deadly incident before making the celebratory New Year’s post.

More than an hour after his New Year’s post on

Earlier, the White House issued a statement saying he had spoken with Democratic New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Wednesday morning to provide “full federal support.”

“President Biden called New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell this morning to provide full federal support following the horrific news that a New Orleans driver killed and injured dozens of people overnight.”

The White House said Biden has been briefed on all “latest developments” and will continue to receive updates throughout the day.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the “horrific” tragedy and is working closely with local and state officials.

Biden issued a formal statement describing the “horrific incident” that occurred overnight in New Orleans.

He said he has been “continually briefed since early this morning by federal law enforcement leadership and my homeland security team, including Secretary of Homeland Security Ali Mayorkas, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, and the Mayor of New Orleans/’

The president thanked the “brave and swift response of local law enforcement in preventing further deaths and injuries.”

He says his team will ensure that “all resources are available as federal, state and local law enforcement officers work diligently to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and ensure there is no further threat.” consists.’

“I will continue to receive updates throughout the day and will have more to say as we have more information to share. In the meantime, my heart goes out to the victims and their families who were simply trying to celebrate the holiday. There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any community in our country.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland quickly issued a statement saying the country “woke up this morning to news of a terrible tragedy in New Orleans that left at least ten people dead and many more injured.”

“My heart is broken for those who started their year learning that the people they love were killed in this horrific attack, and my prayers are with the dozens of injured people, including the New Orleans Police Department officers who took their lives risked to save others.’

He said the FBI is continuing the investigation with assistance from the ATF’s National Security Division and DOJ, along with the local U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The president is heading from Wilmington, Delaware, where he spent New Year’s Eve, to Camp David for what could be one of his last trips there with just 19 days left in his term as president.

Biden just wrapped up a five-day luxury vacation in St. Croix before returning to the United States to serve out the remainder of his term.

The 82-year-old Biden spent his traditional New Year’s holiday in the US Virgin Islands with his daughter Ashley Biden, Hunter and his son Beau and First Lady Jill Biden.

The president had little on his public agenda, spending his time sunbathing at a beachside villa owned by friends Bill and Connie Neville.

He then spent the evening ringing in the new year at the wedding of his niece, Missy Owens.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump spent his New Year’s celebrations at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where his daughter-in-law Lara Trump performed.

Biden, meanwhile, who called First Lady Jill Biden at their home in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2025, was informed of the attack before the couple headed to the Camp David presidential retreat.

But New Year’s morning took a somber turn for the country after a driver rammed into a large crowd before getting out of the car and firing a gun.

Mayor Cantrell declared it a terrorist attack.

The White House says the FBI is on the ground in New Orleans, Louisiana to support local law enforcement and that Biden will be briefed on developments from the ground throughout the day.

Witnesses describe a suspect “wearing full body armor” and “armed with an assault rifle.”

Police returned fire after the person opened fire on the crowd.

Videos of the crime scene circulated on social media, showing multiple victims on the ground as shots rang out in the background and people fled the area.

The vehicle drove into the crowd at the intersection of Bourbon Street and Canal Street around 3:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning, city officials confirmed.

The city of New Orleans announced that the injured had been transported to five different hospitals in the region in the wake of the “mass casualties.”

No information about the suspect has been released so far and it is unclear if any arrests have been made or if police fires made contact with the person.

But a federal law enforcement official told NBC News that the suspect is presumed dead.