Angry Maui residents slam Biden, hold ‘no comment’ signs during president’s fire tour
By Steven Nelson and
Jack Morphet
August 21, 2023 3:02pm
LAHAINA, Hawaii — President Biden was greeted with middle fingers, chants of protest and signs that said “no comment” Monday as he arrived in Maui to tour wildfire damage after repeatedly declining to comment last week on the tragedy that killed at least 114 people.
A group of several dozen residents of scorched western Maui heckled Biden’s motorcade shortly after noon local time as it left tiny Kapalua Airport en route to the hardest hit areas of historic Lahaina, which was destroyed on Aug. 8.
“Go home Joe!” the locals chanted as Biden passed by — moments before the president read a scripted speech touting the federal response, despite criticism from residents who say not enough help has been offered.
The 80-year-old commander in chief has taken intense criticism, including from fellow Democrats, for appearing aloof following the deadliest US wildfires in more than a century.
As he drove toward downtown Lahaina, Biden passed signs that said “NO COMMENT,” “ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS” and “FJB,” as well as at least two flags promoting the 2024 candidacy of former President Donald Trump.
“Where has the president been?“ asked Dennis Mullen, 58, of nearby Kahana, who said that the airport hosting the presidential jet hasn’t been used much to deliver needed supplies.
“Any number of military aircraft, planes and helicopters could have flown in here. To leave a town that was just devastated shut down was just ridiculous. The runway wasn’t cratered,” Mullen told The Post.
“On the west side of Maui, where neighborhoods had burned down, there was desperate need and no one came to help.”
The staggering Maui death toll followed a series of apparent missteps by officials, who didn’t sound emergency alarms or approve the release of water in time to battle the flames.
The dead include children, among them a 7-year-old boy who burned to death with his family inside a car. Most victims have not yet been identified and 850 people remain missing.
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https://nypost.com/2023/08/21/biden-takes-break-from-vacation-to-tour-hawaii-fire-damage/