(UnitedVoice.com) – The destruction from the wildfires on the island of Maui in Hawaii is absolutely devastating. Not only were homes and businesses destroyed, but families were ripped apart as well. Officials have still not found and identified all of the dead. Limited resources, including housing and food, have led to serious problems.
When the President finally arrived at the devastated island, nearly two weeks after the fires began, he was greeted by angry locals giving him the middle finger and yelling obscene words. Now, President Joe Biden is facing additional criticism for a story he told during a trip to the island.
A Tone Deaf Story
One of the things Biden is known for is his ability to relate to people who have lost people they love. It’s easy to understand why. His first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and their one-year-old daughter, Naomi, died in a car accident one week before Christmas in 1972. His sons, Beau and Hunter survived the accident. Decades later, an aggressive form of brain cancer killed Beau Biden.
When the president was in Maui on August 21, he tried to comfort the families who were impacted by the wildfires during an event at the Lahaina Civic Center. However, he used a strange story to try to do it. Biden told the crowd that he could relate to them because he and First Lady Jill Biden knew what it felt like to lose their home.
According to the POTUS, their Delaware home caught fire in 2004. Lightning struck a pond and hit wire. A fire came up underneath his house and into the air conditioning and heating ducts. He told the crowd that he “almost lost [his] wife, [his] ‘67 Corvette, and [his] cat.”
Biden tells Maui wildfire victims, "I don't want to compare difficulties, but…" then tells a made up story about losing his house to a fire.
According to a 2004 AP report, it was “a small fire…contained to the kitchen” that “was under control in 20 minutes.” pic.twitter.com/DNY0Tyatg7
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 22, 2023
However, reports at the time indicated the fire in his home was small and contained to the kitchen. Although even small fires can cause smoke and water damage, it’s certainly not the same as what the people of Maui went through.
Hundreds Missing, Possibly Dead
While Biden joked about almost losing his car, cat, and how “hot” the ground was, people in Maui have lost their children. One man who lives in Hawaii slammed the president for being “out of touch with the common man” and called him a “vile human being” for comparing the disaster to one where he almost lost a vehicle.
Amanda Cassidy, a Lahaina resident, told Fox News the president’s remarks were “tone deaf,” but said she understood he was trying to meet them somewhere. Residents would rather receive “an eighth of what [he’s] giving Ukraine.”
"That is nothing that compares to what happened to our community," a Maui wildfire survivor says on Biden's made-up story about losing his own home in a fire.
"A car and your kitchen is kind of just a little sad to hear … Lahaina is so hurt right now and it was tone deaf." pic.twitter.com/x3He7JSR60
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 23, 2023
As of August 24, between 1,000 and 1,100 people are still missing in Maui, and over 100 are confirmed dead. Officials are struggling to identify the bodies they’ve found in the ash.
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