Maui wildfires: Joe Biden visits Hawaiian island after days of criticism

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2023

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Joe Biden has visited the wildfire-hit island of Maui – following days of criticism over his response to the crisis.

The president and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, arrived on the Hawaiian island on Monday – 13 days after the wildfires that claimed at least 114 lives and devastated the historic town of Lahaina.

After touring, the damage, he promised the federal government would help Maui “for as long as it takes” to recover from the devastation.

“The country grieves with you, stands with you and will do everything possible to help you recover,” he said in a speech, delivered next to a 150-year-old banyan tree in Old Lahaina which had been burned in the fires.

“Today it’s burned, but it’s still standing,” Mr Biden said of the tree.

“The tree survived for a reason. I believe it’s a very powerful symbol of what we can and will do to get through this crisis.”

Criticism of Biden’s response

It comes after Biden and his administration faced criticism over the response to the wildfires – the deadliest in the US in more than a century.

A protestor held out a banner urging “relief for Maui now” as the president’s motorcade weaved through the streets of Lahaina, while another signed urged Mr Biden to “listen to the people”.

It comes after former Democratic Hawaii Representative, Tulsi Gabbard, compared the response to the wildfires in Hawaii – the 50th state of the US – to America’s support for Ukraine.

“Maybe if we change the name of Maui to Ukraine, maybe they will pay attention to us,” she said.

Biden also faced criticism from former president Donald Trump – the current frontrunner amongst Republicans to challenge him at next year’s presidential elections.

Mr Trump said it was “disgraceful” that his successor had not responded more quickly to the crisis.

However, The White House has pushed back against the criticism, insisting that the president had kept in close touch with the governor and other emergency officials on Maui throughout the unfolding crisis.

More than $8.5m (£6.6m) worth of aid has also been distributed to some 8,000 affected families, according to Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Analysis: Presidential visits to disaster zones are always politically fraught

Remember that 2005 image of George W Bush glimpsing down from an Air Force One window at a destroyed New Orleans? It was a disastrous moment quickly etched in presidential history.

Presidential visits to disaster zones are always politically fraught.

Go too early and the charge will be that the entourage is getting in the way of the rescue and recovery. Go too late and the charge will be that the president doesn’t care enough. Or, in Bush’s case, don’t go at all.

Optics and tone are drawn on fine lines. Showcasing compassion can easily be interpreted as a photo op.

President Biden is good at empathy and it was on show for this visit to the devastated Hawaiian island of Maui.

As he often does with grieving communities, he reminded them that he knows grief. He spoke about losing his first wife and baby daughter in a car crash in 1972. He recalled wondering how life would go on.

There has been criticism of the president for not coming sooner, for not speaking about it for four days after, and for an apparently slow federal response.

The presidential election is still over a year away but make no mistake, brutal American electioneering is in full swing.

Still, it did look like his presence was appreciated. There was loud applause when he reiterated the pledge that federal help to rebuild will be led by locals.

“We’re going to get it done for you but get it done the way you want it done, not done somebody else’s way,” he said. “I mean it.”

The town at the heart of the fire was once the seat of power for the ancient Hawaiian kingdom.

Native Hawaiians worry, always, that they are left out and that this will be no different – that they will be again as this island rebuilds and recovers.

‘We are going to rebuild’

Mr Biden and his wife – who interrupted a weeklong holiday in Lake Tahoe for the trip – spent most of their visit to Maui in the town of Lahaina, which has been largely destroyed by the wildfires.

They also met with first responders, were briefed by state and local officials about the ongoing response, and took part in a blessing by island elders.

It comes after The White House announced on Monday that it had appointed Bob Fenton, a regional leader at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to be the chief federal response coordinator for the Maui wildfires.

He will be responsible for long-term recovery efforts.

As well as a place popular with tourists, Lahaina also had great cultural significance, as the former capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and as a home to a number of historical buildings.

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“We’re going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild,” said Mr Biden, adding that his administration would be focused on respecting sacred lands, cultures and traditions.

Hundreds still missing

On Sunday, Hawaii senator Brian Schatz said around 85% of the area affected by the wildfires had been searched.

As many as 850 people are recorded as missing, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, who said it was of some relief that the figure had come down from the more than 2,000 names on the original list.

“We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process,” Mr Bissen said.

“The number of identified will rise, and the number of missing may decrease.”

US

Elon Musk to step back from government role ‘in coming months’

Published

7 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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Elon Musk to step back from government role 'in coming months'

Donald Trump has told members of his cabinet that Elon Musk will leave his government role in the coming months.

A senior White House official told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that the US president had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.

Mr Trump is said to have called Mr Musk a “patriot” at the end of the meeting on 24 March, and told the room that “he has never asked me for a thing”.

On Monday in the Oval Office, the president said Mr Musk would at some point be going back to his businesses.

The official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.

That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.

Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.

It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.

Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.

In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.

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Film star Val Kilmer dies aged 65

Published

19 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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Val Kilmer, the actor who starred in Top Gun and played Batman and Jim Morrison, has died aged 65.

His daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press he died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends.

Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered, she said.

The actor, who played Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise in 1986, previously admitted he didn’t want the role, which made him famous.

But he said he begged to be part of the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, even going as far as contacting the producers and creating “heartrending scenes with Iceman”. It would be his final acting role.

Kilmer had a colourful romantic past, having dated Hollywood stars including Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Carly Simon and Cher.

He starred in Willow in 1988 and married his British co-star Joanne Whalley. The couple had two children before they divorced in 1996.

Kilmer portrayed Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holiday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

Kilmer was one of the best-paid actors in the 1990s and in 1992 film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it”.

In his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry, Kilmer discussed his throat cancer diagnosis and recovery.

Actor Josh Brolin wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

In an Instagram post actor Josh Gad called Kilmer “an icon”.

He said: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon.”

Kilmer made his Broadway debut in the 1983 production of Slab Boys with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.

He also appeared in Shakespeare plays in New York – playing the title role in Hamlet and appearing in Henry IV: Part One and As You Like It.

In 2005, he starred on London’s West End in Andrew Rattenbury’s adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice at the Playhouse Theatre.

Kilmer also enjoyed painting, with his website describing him as a “talented and prolific artist in a variety of mediums”.

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‘Liberation day is here’: But what will it mean for global trade?

Published

22 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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'Liberation day is here': But what will it mean for global trade?

“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.

It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.

It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.

It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.

Follow the events of Liberation Day live as they unfold

Three key figures are central to it all.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.

Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.

His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.

‘Stop that crap’: Trump adviser Peter Navarro reacts to Sky News correspondent’s question over tariffs

The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.

The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.

If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.

What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?

And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?

“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.

“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.

Dancing to the president’s tune

My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.

Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.

But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.

Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.

One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.

Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.

Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?

The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.

It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.

Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?

Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?

US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.

Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?

For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.