President Joe Biden has once again refused to answer reporters’ questions about the tragic wildfires in Maui and the increasing death toll.
Biden appeared to have been avoiding the media ever since his outrage-provoking response to questions about the disaster over the weekend — but has once again been caught on video seeming not to care about the tragedy, where more than 100 people have died and roughly 1,000 people are still missing.
On Tuesday, Biden was asked again by the press about the disaster — but responded with silence. The president instead smiled and waved at reporters before turning and boarding Marine One to jet off to Wisconsin.
Biden again SMIRKS as he ignores reporters asking for comment on the rising death toll of the Maui wildfires pic.twitter.com/EYSkUM00e3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 15, 2023
Biden was reportedly leaving to give a speech in Wisconsin about the economy and was then scheduled to visit Camp David for a summit with leaders from Japan and South Korea. He is then supposed to travel to Lake Tahoe on Friday — though there are no official events scheduled for that trip, and the White House has not confirmed whether it is a business trip or vacation.
His schedule does not include any visits to Hawaii to coordinate relief efforts for those affected by the wildfires, which has prompted criticism — especially in light of his repeated dismissal of questions about the disaster.
The media has been trying to get answers from Biden about the administration’s response to the Maui wildfires for several days now, but they have not had any success. Over the weekend, the president spent his time vacationing on the beach in Delaware rather than surveying the damage in Maui.
While leaving the beach, reporters asked Biden for a response to the disaster — which has been declared the worst wildfire in the U.S. in the last 100 years. He simply responded: “No comment.”
Reporters GASP as Joe Biden runs from their questions about rising count of Americans DEAD from Maui wildfire disaster to tan at the beach: "NO COMMENT!" pic.twitter.com/MHOkr2kRUz
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 14, 2023
Following the backlash from that response, staffers appeared to be trying to keep the president away from the press — keeping the media cordoned off 100 yards away from Biden as he disembarked Marine One and walked across the lawn to the Oval Office after arriving back from his beach vacation, ensuring that he couldn’t hear the reporters’ questions.
Biden returns from his beach house in Delaware without answering any questions about the special counsel investigation into Hunter.
He walked straight to the Oval Office, far away from the press. pic.twitter.com/O3ZMbjHyV5
— Diana Glebova (@DianaGlebova) August 14, 2023
