Fox News’ Bill Hemmer pushed back against a former Obama official defending President Joe Biden’s visit to Maui.
President Joe Biden received backlash for delaying his response to the devastating fires in Lahaina that have killed at least 114 as of Tuesday. He told suffering residents Monday an exaggerated story about a fire bursting in his kitchen, which burnt down a portion of the room.
Jim Messina, the former Obama deputy White House chief of staff, defended Biden for expressing “empathy.”
“When politicians try to assimilate and relate like that and it fails because it’s not real, it just flops,” Hemmer began.
“I’m not sure we’re gonna agree on this one, Bill. I think his empathy, his stories, and his way connects with voters is why he won the 2020 election. It’s why he’s gonna win next time. He has empathy and a connection with voters that media and D.C. pundits like me don’t fully give him enough credit for. And I think this kind of thing is the way your neighbor would talk to you and it’s why people like him,” Messina said.
“Jim, with all due respect, it was a kitchen fire that was put out within twenty minutes, and he’s standing there in absolute devastation around him. If they are alive, they have lost everything,” Hemmer said.
“Look, I think it’s how he connects with people. I think it’s his way of connecting and telling his personal story. And I’ve been with him on the personal ground where he does this and people connect with it. I just, I don’t think we agree here,” Messina said.
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The president repeatedly refused to answer reporters’ about the fires, initially telling reporters he had “no comment.”
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden took time off from their vacation in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to visit Hawaii on Monday and address the residents. Angry voters flipped off the president and yelled profanities at him. (RELATED: ‘We Are Suffering’: Maui Residents Slam Biden Admin Response To Deadly Wildfires)
He visited the site two weeks after the beginning of the historic wildfires that left major portions of Lahaina in burnt ruins.