“Not a Joke”: Biden Says the Maui Fires Are like the Lightning That Almost Killed His Cat

There’s a time and place for personal anecdotes.

We all get that.

But when you’re standing in the midst of a catastrophic disaster scene, with ash still in the air and the echoes of heart-wrenching stories from survivors, perhaps that’s NOT the best time to reminisce about that one summer incident back in 2004.

But, alas, here we are.

President Biden, in a move that can only be described as a jaw-dropping lapse in judgment, decided to equate the recent Maui wildfires, which tragically claimed at least 114 lives and obliterated thousands of homes, with… wait for it… the time lightning almost took out his ’67 Corvette.

Oh, and his cat.

Are you kidding me?

We’re not suggesting that personal losses aren’t valid.

But context matters.

Tact matters.

Sensitivity matters.

And making this comparison?

It smacks of a deep disconnect.

It’s like a billionaire telling a person who just declared bankruptcy that he understands the pain because he once lost a $100 bill.

It’s tone-deaf, and it’s frustratingly out of touch.

“I almost lost my wife, my 67 corvette, my cat.”

Joe Biden feels the pain of Lahaina talking about his kitchen fire.
pic.twitter.com/xIeeRNJBj9

— Will Cain (@willcain) August 22, 2023

Maui resident sounds off:

"Hearing Biden talk about his house that had a little fire. You almost lost your cat and your corvette? There were children who were incinerated into ash! You f–king old man. You vile human being."
https://t.co/fVXHEYMjMf

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 22, 2023

WATCH: Lahaina Resident GOES OFF After Biden's Maui Speech Backfires Horribly – ‘You Almost Lost Your Cat? Go F*** Yourself’https://t.co/sVoX7gw8Xf

— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 22, 2023

Here’s a thought: when you’re speaking to people who have just faced a life-altering tragedy, maybe don’t try to “relate” by bringing up that one mild inconvenience from years ago.

Especially not with a chuckle.

This is precisely why so many folks are disillusioned with the political elite.

They crave authenticity, empathy, and genuine understanding.

They long for leaders who can listen without filtering everything through the prism of their own experiences.

They want representatives who see them, hear them, and above all, feel with them. And this little anecdote from Biden?

It simply underscores the difference between genuine empathy and political posturing.

The Washington Times has more details on Biden’s cruel, cold, and callous comments:

President Biden said Monday that he didn’t want to compare the most lethal and devastating wildfire in modern U.S. history to the time that lightning struck his home in Delaware and caused a minor fire.

Then he made the comparison anyway.

Speaking to Maui residents after touring the aftermath of the wildfires that destroyed about 2,000 homes and businesses, killing at least 114 people, Mr. Biden used the occasion to embellish once again the damage to his home in 2004.

“I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it’s like to lose a home,” the president told an audience at a community center in Maui.

He recounted how lightning struck a pond near their Wilmington home, struck a wire and entered their residence through air ducts. Mr. Biden said he was a guest on “Meet the Press” at the time of the fire.

“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ’67 Corvette, and my cat,” Mr. Biden said with a chuckle.

He praised firefighters who “ran into flames to save my wife, save my family. Not a joke.”

Won't somebody think of the dangers a "small fire that was contained to the kitchen" posed to Joe Biden's wife, Corvette, and cat? pic.twitter.com/pwOm94CcdG

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 22, 2023

https://twitter.com/JoeyMannarinoUS/status/1693965158119338122

https://twitter.com/STOCKMASTERJAY/status/1694007549291298935

Maui is in mourning.

Their pain is fresh.

Their losses, vast.

Their need for genuine empathy, dire.

But instead of focusing on their plight, Biden’s narrative shifted the spotlight back to him, painting a picture of his own minor inconvenience in the face of their monumental tragedy.

Newsweek confirms the growing fury against Biden:

A restaurant owner in Kihei, Maui, told The Daily Signal—news site linked to conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation—via a text message that the comment was “the most despicable thing this president has ever said.”

The president went on with his speech praising the work of firefighters: “All kidding aside, I watched the firefighters, the way they responded…You’re all crazy, thanks God. People who run into flames to save other people. And they ran into flames to save my wife, to save my family. Not a joke.”

Biden added: “We were insured, we did not have any problem. But being out of our home for the better part of a year was difficult. I can only image what’s like to lose your home.”

Some accused the president of embellishing a story that wasn’t as dramatic as he tells it. “This story was debunked by the fire department who said Biden ’embellished’ what happened,” Collin Rugg, an author at conservative news website Trending Politics wrote on X.

A 2022 article by the Washington Examiner reported that Biden had talked about the fire in his kitchen that year while visiting Colorado after the state was struck by a rare winter wildfire. On that occasion too, the Republican National Committee Twitter account had accused Biden of exaggerating the story, citing an Associated Press report from 2004, seen by Newsweek, that said the fire was a “small” one that was “contained in the kitchen” and was “under control in 20 minutes.”