President Biden refused to comment Thursday on the wildfire tragedy in Maui as the death toll on the Hawaiian island climbed to 111 — saying, “No, not now” when asked about his planned trip despite facing harsh criticism earlier this week for a similar remark.
“Can you tell us about your Hawaii trip, sir?” a reporter asked Biden under the wing of Air Force One in Scranton, Pa., before the president paid his respects to Ellen Casey, the mother of Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) and widow of former Keystone State Gov. Bob Casey Sr.
“No, not now,” the 80-year-old president replied. “I’m going to be leaving and I’ll be there on Monday.”
“Why is it important that you go?” a reporter followed up.
Biden didn’t answer the second inquiry, instead saying “Thank you” as he turned away to end the exchange.
The president set off a media firestorm Sunday by saying “No comment” when asked about the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century as he left a Delaware beach.
Biden’s “No comment” drew widespread criticism because the job of president traditionally includes offering words of condolence and support in times of national tragedy.
“I campaigned for you,” former Hawaii legislator Kaniela Ing tweeted Monday alongside a picture of Biden relaxing on Rehoboth Beach. “Now, when I lose dozens of my friends, family, and neighbors. This?”
Biden on Tuesday broke his silence about the staggering death toll at an economy-focused speech in Milwaukee, but at one point appeared to forget the name “Maui” and referred to the island as “the one where you see on television all of the time.”
“I apologize because I try very hard to keep my speeches between 15 and 18 minutes, but I got to talk a little bit about Hawaii,” the president also said in an apparent joke.
The White House announced Wednesday that Biden would visit Maui on Aug. 21 — taking a break from a planned weeklong vacation at Lake Tahoe, Nev.
The Biden administration has authorized a $700 relief grant to fire victims, but even that has come under criticism for allegedly being stingy relative to much greater spending on other priorities, such as $113 billion in funding to date sent to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s performance on Monday, but mispronounced the names of the Aloha State’s two Democratic US senators.
Jean-Pierre called Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) by the surname “Harino” and misgendered the state’s first female senator by using the pronoun “he.” Biden’s press secretary also referred to Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) as “Senator Shorts” and “Sharts.”
“Senator Harino [sic], who I said the president spoke to just last night, he thanked the president for the immediate support of federal agencies have delivered for residents of Hawaii,” Jean-Pierre said at her daily press briefing, “and so does, has, so has Senator Shorts, Shwots, Sharts — Schatz.”
Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden will “meet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state and local officials, in the wake of deadly wildfires on the island.”
“In Maui, the President and First Lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort,” she said in a statement. “The President continues to marshal a whole-of-government response to the deadly Maui fires, and he has committed to delivering everything that the people of Hawaii need from the federal government as they recover from this disaster.”
