The president has finally shown up in Maui almost two weeks after the fire that hit the island. Before getting there, there were multiple refusals to comment about the disaster, and two vacations including Rehoboth Beach and Lake Tahoe.
After a few hours in Maui, Biden is heading back to the rest of his vacation at billionaire Tom Steyer’s $18 million Tahoe lakefront estate.
There are a lot of the citizens asking where was FEMA — where was the federal government in response to this? The White House and the FEMA Director got grilled on this by reporters last week, and FEMA Director Deanne Criswell’s response was that they had been there since day one and the citizens had gone through a “trauma.” She basically suggested that the citizens didn’t know what they were talking about in saying they weren’t getting answers.
White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said on Monday that Biden intended to tell the people of Maui that he and the federal government have been there since day one. That’s trying to rewrite history on the back of the disaster that has brought them so much suffering.
When Biden finally reached the island, people were out in force protesting, some who had been there for hours, with cardboard signs saying, “He’s too late,” “he should’ve been here much earlier,” and “actions speak louder than words.” And even then, it’s only because he was basically shamed into it that he’s there.
The president is getting to see people protesting his shameful behavior and letting him know exactly what they think about him. He’s going to meet with victims and first responders. I expect his people to try to have that be private, but the voices will likely be loud enough that truth will make its way to the public.
Take a look at these important posts:
After multiple vacations and refusals to comment on the crisis, Biden takes no questions as he finally arrives for few hours in Maui pic.twitter.com/sCzW79Obbq
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023
Maui residents are lining the road amid Biden's visit — with signs saying "he's too late," "he should've been here much earlier," and "actions speak louder than words." pic.twitter.com/Qnu6j3ogTt
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023