Joe Biden's Response to Maui Fire Death Toll Sparks Backlash

President Joe Biden is facing a backlash for his reportedly dismissive responses on Sunday to questions about the recent wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, that have taken the lives of 96 people with more still unaccounted for.

Biden was cycling on vacation at the seaside in Delaware.

According to Bloomberg correspondent Justin Sink, after spending a few hours sunbathing on the beach near his home, when asked about the death toll on the island, Biden replied with a "no comment," before leaving.

Asked by several reporters camped outside earlier in the day whether he could stop riding his bike to talk about the devastating blazes, Biden responded: "We're looking at it."

The president has since faced criticism online for appearing uncaring, with some critics comparing his reaction to the disaster over the past week to his response to the toxic spill following a train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio, earlier in the year, for which he also faced a backlash.

Large bush fires on Maui have caused power outages, mass evacuations and extensive destruction to the historic resort town of Lahaina. The fires broke out early last week and spread rapidly on hurricane-driven winds from a passing storm.

In its latest update on Sunday evening, the County of Maui said that the fire around Lahaina—which spanned an estimated 2,170 acres—was 85 percent under control, with multiple fire crews monitoring it. Another fire was now entirely contained, while another was 60 percent contained due to hot spots in hard-to-reach areas.

After the first fatalities were announced on Wednesday, Biden expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those who had died in a statement. He added that he was "grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm's way to save lives."

The following day, he declared a federal disaster in Hawaii, making federal funding available to individuals affected by the fires for things such as temporary housing and loans to cover uninsured losses.

However, his latest comments on the matter have been seized upon as an opportunity to slam the president's response to crises.

"Biden doesn't give AF about the suffering people of Maui," tweeted Monica Crowley, former assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury under Donald Trump. "Or the suffering people of East Palestine, Ohio. Or the suffering people in border towns. Or the suffering people anywhere in America."

"Biden in a nutshell," another X, formerly Twitter, user wrote. "East Palestine: No comment. Maui: No comment. Ukraine: Send them another 24 billion."

Biden drew the ire of Republicans and Ohio lawmakers over his decision to visit Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, instead of the crash site near East Palestine in February, while his predecessor Trump visited, bringing bottled water.

Trent Conaway, the town's mayor, described the trip to Kyiv as a "slap in the face." Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for a perceived lack of response to the toxic spill.

Meanwhile, Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Trump-backed candidate for Arizona governor in 2022, described Biden as a "joker" and said he "can't be bothered to care" about the disaster in Maui.

"He just came back from a 14-day beach vacation," Stephen Miller, an editor at The Spectator magazine, wrote. "Spent 4 days in [Washington] D.C., now is back on the beach and has no comment for wildfires that wiped out entire communities. Just incredible stuff."

However, other users noted his disaster declaration earlier in the week.

The Republicans Against Trump X account pointed to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green's acknowledgment of the support received from Biden. "It's going to take a great deal of time to recover from this, but we have the support from every level of government, especially given President Biden's approval of our disaster declaration request today," Green wrote in a recent post.

Biden spent 10 days in Delaware from the end of July, before returning to the White House briefly on August 7 and then touring several states in the Southwest. After arriving back in Washington D.C. on Thursday, he then departed for Delaware again on Friday.

Medhi Hasan, a journalist and MSNBC anchor, commented that "unforced errors" like the lack of a response on the death toll in Maui "will hurt him."

Newsweek approached the White House via email for comment on Monday.

The rapidly moving flames in Maui in some cases gave residents and tourists just minutes to escape, while more than 1,000 people are still thought to be missing. Maui police officials urged families to quickly seek DNA tests as human remains being found had been subjected to heat fierce enough to melt metal.

Green told The Associated Press that he was certain the death toll would continue to rise. "It will certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced," he said.