Ignore, deny, and then claim he did a great job
It’s all too easy – and often gross – to use natural disasters to attack incumbent political opponents.
No official boasts of dominion over earth, wind, fire, or water.
Yet in President Biden’s response to the devastating Maui wildfires, we can see the resurgence of a familiar habit: ignoring a difficult situation — whether self-inflicted or not — dancing around and/or blaming the public answer Only when the criticism becomes so deafening that it drowns out everything else.
And the coup de grace: singing your own praises afterwards.
Consider the rising prices that have left Americans so dissatisfied with the economy, despite low unemployment and plentiful job opportunities.
In June 2021, Biden dismissed consumer concerns about early warning signs of inflation, arguing that “the vast majority of pundits, including Wall Street,” were right when they said inflation was not going to last.
A few months later, Biden said it was the “difficult challenges and complications brought on by COVID-19” that were “inflating the costs for American families.”
Unmentioned, these challenges and complications were due in no small part to a rash $1.9 trillion spending jubilee that Biden endorsed and signed into law early in his presidency.
When Biden finally came to acknowledge the impact of inflation on the American people, his proposed cure was even bolder than his denial of the disease.
In August 2022, Biden signed another spending bill, largely focused on environmental social engineering, almost derisively dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act.
Follow the latest NYP coverage of Maui’s deadly wildfires
The architect of the novel and silly economic theory that more money in circulation could lower prices called the law “the most important piece of legislation passed in Congress to fight inflation, and one of the most important pieces of legislation in our country’s history.”
The outrageousness of it all was at least mitigated by the fact that he didn’t say how significant it was.
Biden’s roadmap for this type of obfuscation was modeled by his handling of the Afghanistan disengagement.
First, he delivered a massive propaganda coup to the Taliban by announcing his intention to pull all US troops out of the country on September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attacks.
As the terrorists then benefited from his messages about America’s intentions, he pushed the timeline up while stressing that the Afghan government was unlikely to collapse once the United States withdrew.
When the country finally collapsed before US troops, civilians and allies were out of harm’s way and 13 military personnel died as a result, Biden delivered an incredibly overbearing speech, patting himself on the back for all of it.
He called the evacuation an “extraordinary success”.
He boasted that, contrary to all available evidence, his government was “ready” for the Taliban to take power.
And shamefully, he used the sanity of American veterans to justify his decision and the ridiculous “public obligations” of terrorists to allow their enemies safe passage to defend implementation.
Once again, with Maui, the President is reintroducing his outdated strategy for dealing with disasters.
Last week, Biden vowed that the federal government would give Maui “everything it needs.”
But on Sunday — while enjoying one of his many days at the beach — Biden appeared too busy to comment on the devastation.
“Mr. Mr. President, do you have any comment on the rising death toll on Maui?” asked a reporter.
“NO. No comment,” Biden replied.
The commander-in-chief couldn’t take a moment during one of his many vacations to deal with America’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century?
Of course, now that he’s been heavily criticized, Biden has booked his ticket to Maui.
Don’t be surprised if – not if – he avoids taking responsibility for his callousness and instead indulges in undeserved self-adulation.
Isaac Schorr is an employee at Mediaite.
