President Biden struggled to pronounce the names of numerous Hawaiian officials and cracked jokes during his long-awaited visit to the devastated island of Maui on Monday.
Biden — who agreed to cut his second vacation in less than a month short in order to visit the island — was facing mounting scrutiny over his absence. The president initially sparked backlash after he shrugged off questions about the disaster that has left hundreds dead or missing while returning from vacation last week. “No comment,” Biden said before entering the White House.
The president’s visit was seen as “too late” by a number of Maui residents, however, who lined up to voice their displeasure with the Biden Administration’s response.
Upon landing on Monday, President Biden cracked a smile and proceeded to crack jokes with rescue workers. At one point he stopped to pet a cadaver dog and seemed amazed that the dog was wearing boots due to the high temperatures. “That’s some hot ground, man,” Biden remarked.
Biden gets distracted by a dog: “That’s some hot ground, man!” pic.twitter.com/FtyuUgFOPF
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Biden then addressed the media in a press conference. While listing names, the president paused