Outside of Joe Biden’s usual enablers in the mainstream press, his response to the Maui fires tragedy has been heavily scrutinized and found lacking in the court of public opinion – and for good reason.
For starters, Biden’s atrocious “no comment” answer two weeks ago when he was asked his thoughts on the rising death toll understandably struck people – even some prominent Hawaii Democrat leaders – as cold and insensitive, especially considering he was just finishing up a relaxing afternoon at Rehoboth Beach before heading home to continue his vacation.
For those who missed the moment, watch as Biden smirked while giving his “no comment” answer:
Biden’s on vacation, so he’s not taking any questions. pic.twitter.com/SZPZZv1ZDA
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 14, 2023
Then there was his refusal again a week ago to comment on the devastation just before he got on Air Force One to prepare for yet more time away, first to Camp David and then to Lake Tahoe.
There was him allegedly falling asleep during an event in Hawaii, and also the insulting comments Biden gave during a tone-deaf speech, trying to relate to what the people there had gone through by comparing it to the contained 2004 kitchen fire at his home that he falsely claimed nearly destroyed his Corvette.
Even if the below sign isn’t real, it reflects the sentiment many in Hawaii are feeling:
A Hawaiian store displays a large sign criticizing President Biden for comparing almost losing his corvette in a small kitchen fire to the catastrophic blaze that razed historic Lahaina Town, claiming over 115 lives and leaving more than 1,000 missing. “Sorry you almost lost your ’67 corvette in a fire, Mr. President Maui Strong!”
A Hawaiian store displays a large sign criticizing President Biden for comparing almost losing his corvette in a small kitchen fire to the catastrophic blaze that razed historic Lahaina Town, claiming over 115 lives and leaving more than 1,000 missing.
"Sorry you almost lost… pic.twitter.com/fE3J1h7qZw
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 24, 2023
But it’s the “no comment” controversy that has stuck to Biden as the death toll, unfortunately, gets bigger and the lawsuits begin, so much so that we’re now getting our collective intelligence insulted once more by the Biden White House with another attempt at cleaning up the mess he originally caused:
Eleven days after President Biden drew criticism for appearing to brush off a query about the deadly wildfires in Hawaii with a “no comment,” a White House spokeswoman said on Thursday that the president never heard the question.
Olivia Dalton, the deputy White House press secretary, made the clarification in response to a question from The New York Times.
[…]
“He didn’t hear the question,” Ms. Dalton said. “He absolutely didn’t say ‘no comment’ in relation to Maui. And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to being in daily contact with senior staff, FEMA and state officials as he marshaled a whole-of-government response to the fires.”
Yeah right. And I’m really Hillary Clinton.
If he “didn’t hear the question,” why weren’t we told that the day after it happened? Why are we just hearing this now? Speculation varies, but what’s likely the case is that Biden’s overworked handlers have spent the last eleven days trying to come up with an excuse that they feel the public would buy, with the hearing thing being the best one considering Biden’s age.
But the reality of the situation is that it’s Politician 101 to never answer a question you either didn’t hear or didn’t understand without first asking for clarification. Biden didn’t do that. In my opinion, he heard the question but couldn’t be bothered because his priorities were to get home and relax some more.
Either way, no matter how you slice it, Biden’s botched handling of the Maui devastation is not going to help him at a time when more questions and concerns are being raised about Biden’s physical and mental acuity and ability to lead this country.
