White House now says Biden’s ‘no comment’ on Maui was NOTHING to do with wildfires: West Wing desperately tries to clean up Joe’s response – by saying he didn’t hear the question

The White House has said President Joe Biden did not hear the question when he delivered his heavily criticized “no comment” response about the devastation in Maui.

The president was criticized for making the statement on August 14, while on a beach vacation when fires destroyed homes and killed more than 100 people on Hawain Island.

Now the White House is trying to clean up its response.

“He didn’t hear the question,” Olivia Dalton, deputy White House press secretary, told DailyMail.com.

“He definitely didn’t say ‘no comment’ regarding Maui. And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to interacting daily with senior staff, FEMA and state officials as he orchestrated a government-wide response to the fires.”

Biden was spending a long weekend at his Rehoboth Beach home when asked about the fires. Reporters who traveled with him noted that it was difficult to hear the president’s answer to their question.

He had been on the beach with First Lady Jill Biden and family friends when he responded to the press question.

Republicans responded to his comments, arguing that a president who claims to be sensitive was in fact the opposite.

Compounding the problem was the White House’s slowness to say whether or not Biden would visit the devastation. He eventually did, but he was also accused of being insensitive during that trip.

The issue of Biden’s conduct has remained at the forefront as Republicans continue to pile up.

Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s frontrunner for the presidential nomination, denounced Biden’s response.

“It’s often fine to say ‘no comment,’ but to smile when you say it, especially in a tragedy like this, is absolutely appalling and unacceptable,” Trump said.

And during the Republican primary debate Wednesday night, Ron DeSantis addressed Biden’s response to the Maui wildfires.

“Biden was on the beach while those people suffered,” the Florida governor said in response to a question about climate change.

He was asked about it and said no comment. Are you joking? As someone who has handled disasters in Florida, you must be activated. You have to be there, be present and help people who do it.’

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk with Hawaii Governor Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as they tour the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on Monday

Along the Lahaina Bypass in Lahaina, Hawaii, crosses honor those killed in a recent wildfire

Biden visited Maui Monday to witness the devastation of the wildfires, but was criticized for trying to deal with the victims by dredging up his own family tragedy and talking about a decades-old kitchen fire at his home.

Maui County has released the names of 388 people still missing in the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.

The number of confirmed deaths stands at 115, a number the province expects to rise.

Another 1,732 people reported missing were found safe Thursday afternoon, officials said.