Maui Residents Condemn Biden For Absence Following Fires
President Joe Biden is facing intense backlash from both sides of the aisle, and especially from Maui residents, over his failed response to the deadly wildfires last week that have claimed at least 111 lives so far.
After two separate instances in which Biden was seen smirking at reporters who asked him for a response to the disaster — including one where he said “no comment” after spending the weekend lounging on the beach in Delaware during the wildfires — the White House has finally announced that the president and First Lady Jill Biden will be visiting the island on Monday.
With 111 people dead including children, and more than 1,000 people still unaccounted for, Maui residents are outraged over Biden’s flippant responses to the tragedy.
One resident of Lahaina, a historic town that turned to ash from the fire with an estimated $6 billion in damages, spoke to Australian independent media outlet Rebel News about the Biden administration’s response to the disaster — noting the massive amount of U.S. taxpayer dollars being sent to Ukraine compared to the meager $700 per household for Maui the administration announced last week.
“Why aren’t you taking care of what you claim to be in charge of rather than sending out all these funds and whatever else you guys are sending to Ukraine or anywhere?” the woman asked Biden. “Take care of here first. I don’t see why any president wouldn’t step up and take care of what’s part of their territory. I think it’s a stupid move on his part. Biden? Yeah, he’s an idiot.”
Ella Sable Tacderan, another Maui resident, appeared on CNN to discuss the disaster — asking host Kaitlan Collins: “Where’s the president?”
“Aren’t we Americans, too?” Tacderan asked. “We’re part of the United States. Why are we getting put in the back pocket? Why are we being ignored?”
Biden’s current schedule has him spending the weekend in Lake Tahoe for another vacation before his trip to Maui, and some reports indicate that he may be pushing back his trip to the island in favor of the vacation.
Meanwhile, people are still speculating as to the cause of the fire — although most believe it to have been caused by downed power lines. According to The Daily Wire, “Hawaiian Electric is under scrutiny for allegedly slow-walking modernization and repairs of its electrical grid as it devoted resources to building out the utility’s green energy network.”
