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

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

Published

13 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Published

13 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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Gaza permanent ceasefire 'questionable', says Israeli government

The Israeli government believes the chances of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza are “questionable”.

The pessimistic assessment, in a top-level Israeli government briefing given to Sky News, comes as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to leave Washington DC after a four-day visit which had begun with the expectation of a ceasefire announcement.

Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the US later today with the prospect of even a temporary 60-day ceasefire looking extremely unlikely this week.

Within “a week, two weeks – not a day” is how it was framed in the background briefing late on Wednesday.

Crucially, though, on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the framing from the briefing was even less optimistic: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement. But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

Sky News has spoken to several Israeli officials at the top level of the government. None will be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

But I have been given a very clear understanding of Mr Netanyahu’s thinking.

The Israeli position is that a permanent ceasefire (beyond the initial 60 days, which itself is yet to be agreed) is only possible if Hamas lays down its arms. “If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war],” said a source.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

This was rejected by Hamas and by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told the Israelis that the redeployment map “looks like a Smotrich plan”, a reference to the extreme-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

My briefing of Mr Netanyahu’s position is that he has not shifted in terms of Israel’s central stated war aims. The return of the hostages and eliminating Hamas are the key objectives.

But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, it was clear from my briefing that no permanent ceasefire is possible in the Israeli government’s view without the complete removal of Hamas as a political and military entity.

Hamas is not likely to negotiate its way to oblivion.

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, a senior Israeli official told Sky News: “We would want IDF in every square metre of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone.”

It was clear to me that Mr Netanyahu wants his stated position to be that his government has no territorial ambition for Gaza.

One quote to come from my briefing, which I am only able to attribute to a senior Israeli official, says: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas.”

Another clear indication of Mr Netanyahu’s position – a quote from the briefing, attributable only to a senior Israeli official: “You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, it’s clear from my briefings that Mr Netanyahu continues to rule out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

The Israeli government assessment is that the Palestinians are not going to have a state “as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state”.

On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the briefing revealed that Mr Netanyahu’s view is that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave” but that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated.

“It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction,” a senior Israeli official said.

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary”, is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.

Reacting to Israeli Defence Minister Katz’s recent statement revealing a plan to move Palestinians into a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, and not let them out of that area, the official wouldn’t be drawn, except to say: “As a permanent arrangement? Of course not.”

US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says senior Israeli official

Published

16 hours ago

July 10, 2025

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A senior Israeli official has issued a less-than-optimistic assessment of the permanency of any ceasefire in Gaza.

Speaking in Washington on condition of anonymity, the senior official said that a 60-day ceasefire “might” be possible within “a week, two weeks – not a day”.

But on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the official said: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement.

“But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to conclude a four-day visit to Washington later today.

There had been hope that a ceasefire could be announced during the trip. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that it’s close.

Speaking at a briefing for a number of reporters, the Israeli official would not be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

The official repeated Israel’s central stated war aims of getting the hostages back and eliminating Hamas. But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, the official was clear that no permanent ceasefire would be possible without the complete removal of Hamas.

“We will offer them a permanent ceasefire,” he told Sky News. “If they agree. Fine. It’s over.

“They lay down their arms, and we proceed [with the ceasefire]. If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war].”

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, the official said: “We would want IDF in every square meter of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone…”

He added: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas…”

The official said the Israeli government had “no territorial designs for Gaza”.

“But [we] don’t want Hamas there,” he continued. “You have to finish the job… victory over Hamas. You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, the official ruled out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

“They are not going to have a state in the foreseeable future as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state. It doesn’t make a difference if they are the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, it’s just a difference of tactics.”

On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the official predicted that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave”.

But he claimed that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated, adding: “It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction.”

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary,” is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.