Remember when Joe Biden said ‘no comment’ eleven days ago when asked about the rising death toll from the wildfire that devastated the Hawaii island of Maui?
Well suddenly the White House is claiming he didn’t actually hear the question.
Here’s more from the New York Post:
The White House changed its tune following backlash over President Biden responding “No comment” earlier this month to a question about the deadly wildfires on Maui.
Deputy White House press secretary Olivia Dalton told the New York Times on Thursday that Biden, 80, “didn’t hear the question” while stepping into a vehicle during his family vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Aug. 13.
“He absolutely didn’t say ‘No comment’ in relation to Maui,” she told the outlet. “And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to being in daily contact with senior staff, FEMA and state officials as he marshaled a whole-of-government response to the fires.”
The Times did not clarify to what question the president believed he was responding, nor did Dalton explain why Biden did not simply indicate he hadn’t heard the reporter’s question as opposed to making the blanket “No comment” response.
The Aug. 8 blaze killed at least 115 people and left 850 missing, according to Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen.
Why are they waiting until just now to make this clarification? If this was a legit misunderstanding they would have been all over this on the day this got reported. But they’ve said nothing about it until now, eleven days later, and now we are expected to believe he didn’t hear the question?
If you watch the video below, you’ll see Biden stop and listen to the reporter ask her question before he says ‘no comment’:
"Any comment on the rising death toll in Maui?"
BIDEN: "No. No comment." pic.twitter.com/oORpRuLUpz
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 14, 2023
Maybe the White House is seeing poll numbers that don’t look so good, which is why they put out this misinformation now. Perhaps the Republican debate Wednesday night put a chink in his armor.