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.
Image: Mr Biden gave a speech about Lahaina’s famous banyan tree, which was burnt by the fire
Image: Hawaii Governor Josh Green hugs Joe Biden during his visit to Maui. Pic: AP
“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”.
Advertisement
Image: A woman holds a sign as calling for more relief for Maui during Mr Biden’s visit to the island
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:31
Maui resident reflects on wildfires
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.
Image: Pic: AP
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.
Image: Mr Biden and his wife participated in a blessing ceremony with the Lahaina elders at Moku’ula. Pic: AP
Image: They also met with the island’s first responders. Pic:AP
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.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
“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.
Image: Marine One flies over Maui following devastating wildfires
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.”
Donald Trump says the Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if all remaining Israeli hostages are not returned by noon on Saturday – as he warned Hamas that “all hell is going to break out”.
The US president’s intervention came hours after Hamas has said it will delay the release of more hostages and accused Israel of violating their ceasefire deal.
While signing a series of new executive orders, Mr Trump said he feared many Israeli hostages scheduled for release are already dead.
Referring to his Saturday deadline for the release of hostages, Mr Trump said: “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”
He acknowledged that a decision to end the ceasefire was up to Israel, adding: “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
Hours earlier, Mr Trump said Palestinians would not have the right to return under his plan for US “ownership” of Gaza – contradicting officials in his administration who said they would be relocated temporarily.
Image: Widespread destruction seen in Gaza City. Pic: AP
Hamas halts release of hostages
Earlier on Monday, Hamas claimed ceasefire violations had included “delaying the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, and targeting them with shelling and gunfire”.
Spokesman Abu Obeida said Hamas remained committed if Israel kept to the terms, but that the 15 February handover was postponed “until the occupation commits to and compensates for the past weeks”.
Egyptian security sources told Reuters that mediators now fear the deal will break down.
They said Hamas believes Israel isn’t serious about the ceasefire – which began on 19 January.
They were among about 250 people taken during the 7 October 2023 attack, when 1,200 people were murdered.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:16
Tears as Thai hostages return home
Five swaps have taken place so far, with 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners released.
Saturday’s exchange was due to involve three more Israelis and hundreds of Palestinians.
Defence minister Israel Katz said any delay in releasing hostages would be “a complete violation” and he had instructed troops to be on highest alert.
The Hostages and Missing Family Forum called on mediating countries to restore the deal, saying “time is of the essence” and citing “the shocking conditions of the hostages released last Saturday”.
The four-mile-long Netzarim corridor separates northern Gaza from the south, and hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have now crossed back over.
However, Israel pushed back the withdrawal by a few days in protest at the chaotic release of hostages Arbel Yehud and Gadi Moses.
This may be what Hamas is referencing what it talks of “delaying the return of the displaced”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:03
Palestinians return to destroyed Netzarim
There have also been examples of Israeli troops shooting at or near Palestinians approaching Israeli forces after being warned to stay back.
So far, little progress has been made on an extension to the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.
A delegation from Israel has arrived in Qatar for further talks amid concern the deal might collapse before all remaining hostages are freed.
Israel has previously said it will not agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’s military and political capabilities are eliminated.
Hamas has countered that it will not hand over the final hostages until Israel removes all its troops from Gaza.
Image: ‘We were being pummelled by both friend and foe alike,’ said the US president
The proclamations mean the president has now removed the exceptions and exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel to allow for all imports of the metal to be taxed at 25%.
More from US
The new tariff on aluminium is also much higher than the 10% duty he imposed on the material in his first term.
The tariffs are part of an aggressive push by Mr Trump to reset global trade, as he claims that price hikes on the people and companies buying foreign-made products will ultimately strengthen domestic manufacturing.
Outside economic analyses suggest the tariffs would increase costs for the factories that use steel and aluminium, possibly leaving US manufacturers worse off.
Canada, the largest source of steel imports to the US, criticised the move.
Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Mr Trump was destabilising the global economy.
“Today’s news makes it clear that perpetual uncertainty is here to stay,” she said.
At least part of the idea behind tariffs is to bring some production back to the US, but imposing them will have consequences.
What kinds of consequences? Well, at its simplest, tariffs push up prices. This is, when you think about it, blindingly obvious.
A tariff is a tax on a good entering the country.
So if aluminium and steel are going up in price then that means, all else equal, that the cost of making everything from aircraft wings to steel rivets also goes up.
That in turn means consumers end up paying the price – and if a company can’t make ends meet in the face of these tariffs, it means job losses – possibly within the very industrial sectors the president wants to protect.
So says the economic theory. But in practice, economics isn’t everything.
There are countless examples throughout history of countries defying economic logic in search of other goals.
Perhaps they want to improve their national self-reliance in a given product; perhaps they want to ensure certain jobs in cherished areas or industries are protected.
But nothing comes for free, and even if Donald Trump’s tariffs succeed in persuading domestic producers to smelt more aluminium or steel, such things don’t happen overnight.
In the short run, it’s hard to see how these tariffs wouldn’t be significantly inflationary.
Donald Trump has said Palestinians would have no right to return to Gaza under his proposal to relocate its population and rebuild the Strip.
The president last week debuted his suggestion to “own” Gaza and shut out Hamas while it’s redeveloped, but has now contradicted officials who had said any relocation would be temporary.
Asked by Fox News if Palestinians could return, he replied: “No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing. In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”
Speaking on Monday at the White House, Mr Trump also suggested the current ceasefire in Gaza should end on Saturday if Hamas does not release hostages as planned.
He then went further, saying all the remaining hostages should be released by midday on Saturday, or the ceasefire should be cancelled – and that “all hell is going to break out” if the hostages are not freed then.
But the US president added: “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:48
‘I would own this’ – Trump on Gaza
Mr Trump told Fox News his future vision for Gazawas to build multiple “safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is”, adding the area is currently “not habitable”.
He said he believed he could cut a deal with Jordan or Egypt to take people in.
However, Arab allies – including Egypt and Saudi Arabia – have dismissed the idea of relocating Gaza’s two-million-plus population.
Western countries have also rejected the proposal; an independent state for Palestinians remains the favoured way forward but is a no-go for the Israeli government.
When asked in the media, Palestinians have also rubbished the idea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has supported Mr Trump’s controversial proposal.
Image: Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
Much of Gaza lies in ruins due to Israel‘s attempt to wipe out Hamas after its 2023 terror attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel.
About 250 were also kidnapped, but those still alive have started to be released in recent weeks after a hard-won truce took effect last month.
Since the ceasefire began on 19 January, five swaps have taken place – with 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages released.
In total, Israel has said it will release up to 1,904 Palestinian prisoners in return for 33 Israeli hostages during the deal’s first phase.
Prospect of no return most offensive part of radical plan
From Donald Trump, it’s a hardened “No”. Asked directly if Palestinians would have the right to return to a redeveloped Gaza, he told Fox News Channel’s Brett Baier: “No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to have much better housing.”
If the notion of Trump building on Gaza has offended its people, most offensive is the prospect for them of no return. Since Donald Trump first suggested taking and building on Palestinian land, observers in America, the Middle East and all countries in between have been assessing its seriousness.
Everything he’s said since indicates he’s committed both to the project and to ignoring entrenched objections from allies and adversaries alike.
In spite of flat refusals by Jordan and Egypt to resettle Palestinians in those countries, Trump said: “I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. You know, we give them billions and billions of dollars a year.”
If peace in the Middle East was a matter of money, it would have been solved long ago. Tuesday’s meeting in Washington between Trump and Jordan’s King Abdullah won’t be easy.
In the White House, the Jordanian leader will talk numbers of his own – the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees already living in the Hashemite kingdom and the instability threatened by moving more.
Trump is also due to meet the Egyptian president and the Saudi crown prince in the coming days – it is a chorus of Arab voices to caution an expansionist president at a delicate time, as parties involved in the current conflict work through the phases of a ceasefire deal.
Trump’s plan is radical and it invites fresh-eyed debate over a way forward for the region.
However, it is the property deal that separates a people from their home – again. At the heart of a radical plan, it’s the inherent recklessness.
So far, little progress has been made on an extension to the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.
A delegation from Israel has arrived in Qatar for further talks amid concern the deal might collapse before all remaining hostages are freed.