President Biden had yet to offer a verbal statement Monday afternoon in response to the mounting death toll in the catastrophic Maui wildfire — the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century — after spending the weekend sunning himself on the beach near his Delaware vacation home.
The 80-year-old commander-in-chief avoided reporters upon his return to Washington Monday morning, walking directly across the White House lawn to the Oval Office without approaching the press to give a statement on the tragedy, as US leaders often do.
The White House later put out a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, taking note of the carnage in Maui and detailing government resources on offer to beleaguered residents. “As residents of Hawai’i mourn the loss of life and devastation taking place across their beautiful home, we mourn with them. Like I’ve said, not only our prayers are with those impacted – but every asset we have will be available to them,” read the statement attributed to Biden.
A day earlier, the president offered a stony-hearted “No comment” when asked about the death toll, which has climbed to at least 96.
Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink posted a photo of Biden lounging with a group of people on Rehoboth Beach Sunday afternoon, triggering outrage on social media.
“I campaigned for you,” raged former Hawaii legislator Kaniela Ing early Monday. “Now, when I lose dozens of my friends, family, and neighbors. This?”
“Biden doesn’t give AF [a f–k] about the suffering people of Maui,” tweeted Monica Crowley, former US Treasury Department assistant secretary for public affairs during the Trump administration. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Robert Gauthier/LA Times via Getty Images/Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images |
The Maui blaze is now the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than 100 years. However, vacationing President Joe Biden's recent reaction to being asked about the American tragedy in Hawaii has been deemed as "heartless" by many.
As of Sunday, the death toll had risen to 93 people, plus more than 1,000 are still missing, according to Newsweek. The Lahaina wildfire is the deadliest in the United States since the 1918 Cloquet fire that killed 453 people in drought-stricken northern Minnesota.
Cadaver dog teams are slowly searching the remnants of the scorched region for human remains. As of Saturday, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said the cadaver dog teams had cleared just 3% of the search area due to the harsh, burnt terrain.
Pelletier said the number of casualties is expected to increase.
"We've got an area that we have to contain that is at least 5 square miles, and it is full of our loved ones," Pelletier said.
Pelletier explained it has been challenging to identify the deceased because "we pick up the remains and they fall apart," adding that the remains have been through "a fire that melted metal."
In anticipation of many more casualties, the FBI has set up a mobile refrigerated morgue to store dead bodies in Lahaina, according to the Daily Mail.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said over 1,600 people are being housed in shelters, and possibly thousands of displaced people need sanctuary.
"It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced," Green declared. "We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding." --->READ MORE HERE
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