August 22nd 2023.
President Joe Biden visited devastated Maui on Monday to speak to those affected by the wildfires. In a room with displaced residents of Lahaina, the area that was almost entirely destroyed, Biden recalled a time when he and his wife Jill experienced a kitchen fire.
"I don't want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what it's like to lose a home," he said, wearing a lei as a symbol of Aloha.
Biden went on to tell the story of how he and his wife almost lost their home fifteen years ago due to a lighting strike that sent sparks into their home's heating and air conditioning ducts. He spoke of the fear that he and his wife were in and how the firefighters saved them.
At this point, he made a joke about how even his cherished 1967 Corvette was almost lost. This was met with much criticism since the tone was seen as inappropriate given the death and destruction in Maui.
In addition to this, Biden was also criticised for having "no comment" on the rising death toll in Maui while vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He was also seen to have forgotten the name of Maui in his first public remarks on the tragedy.
Despite the criticism, Biden was commended for his efforts to fly to Maui and support the community. He expressed his gratitude to the firefighters and stated that he could only imagine what it was like to lose a home.
At the end of his visit, Biden stopped to pet a cadaver dog that wore small boots, and made a joke about the hot ground. This also did not go down well with critics. White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates defended Biden's actions by pointing out that he was petting the dog in order to help those who had lost their loved ones find closure.
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