White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre went on the defense after Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy told her the administration’s response to the Maui wildfires was “not that good.”
Doocy said the White House has seemingly delivered a “robust” response to Hurricane Idalia in Florida after the administration faced criticism for President Joe Biden’s response to the wildfires in Maui. The wildfires reportedly killed at least 115 people with an unclear number still missing, becoming the most deadly in over a century.
“It seems like the hurricane response so far is robust. Did you guys realize that the initial Hawaii wildfire response was not that good, or is it just easier for people to get help from the White House when the president is not on vacation?” Doocy asked.
“So, the premise of your question and the way you posed your question, I disagree, just for the record,” Jean-Pierre answered. “So, if you talk to, if you were to do your reporting and speak to the governor of Hawaii, the senators of Hawaii, the folks on the ground, they would say that the president reacted in record time when it came to dealing with the wildfires. When it came to dealing and making sure that they got everything that they need on a federal level to deal with what was going on. Let’s not forget there were more than 600 federal employees on the ground, already, to assist with the wildfires in Maui.”
“So, your question is wrong, it’s flawed in many, many ways, and I would advise you to go speak to the governor and the local and state officials in Hawaii,” the press secretary continued.
The president did not make any immediate plans to visit the devastation in Maui and previously refused to answer reporters’ questions on the matter. He and First Lady Jill Biden made their trip to Maui on Aug. 21, where angry residents were filmed yelling profanities at the first couple as their motorcade drove into town.
The president gave a speech to the Maui residents where he told a story about a 20-minute fire that once burned down a “significant portion” of his kitchen. He initially said the fire destroyed his home entirely before backtracking and saying the majority of his house was still standing afterwards. (RELATED: Here’s Everything Joe Biden Missed While Vacationing For 19 Days In August)
After visiting Maui, Biden and the first lady returned to a week-long vacation at an $18-million dollar rented home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He left for Lake Tahoe shortly after returning from another week-long vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
While Biden was vacationing in Delaware in mid-August, he appeared to tell reporters he had “no comment” on the Maui wildfires. White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton later told The New York Times that Biden did not hear the question.
“He didn’t hear the question,” Dalton claimed. “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.”
Biden initially issued a disaster declaration for Maui after the wildfires broke out, saying the administration was “working as quickly as possible” to combat the fires.