US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he would travel to Hawaii — scene of the country’s deadliest wildfires in a century — as soon as possible to survey the damage and comfort survivors.
The 80-year-old Democrat, who was speaking during a visit to a factory in Wisconsin, dedicated the start of his speech to the situation in Hawaii, where at least 99 people have died in the blazes on the island of Maui.
“My wife Jill and I are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can,” Biden said, noting that he did not want to “get in the way” of relief efforts.
Any presidential trip is a complicated operation in terms of logistics and security, requiring multiple local agencies to cooperate — and potentially taking manpower away from the situation at hand.
Biden, who quickly declared a “major disaster” in Hawaii, unblocking federal aid funds, said he had spoken multiple times with Hawaii Governor Josh Green.
“That’s a fancy word of saying whatever you need, you’re going to get,” said Biden, who has been criticized by his Republican opponents for a response they have deemed insufficient.