Biden in Lahaina: 'I Almost Lost My Wife, My '67 Corvette ... and My Cat' (August 21, 2023)

On Aug. 21, 2023, President Joe Biden stood before residents of Lahaina, Hawaii, who had lost everything in the wildfires, and told them about his own house fire. “I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what it’s like to lose a home,” Biden said, according to the official transcript [2].

“Years ago—now 15 years ago—I was in Washington doing ‘Meet the Press.’ It was a sunny Sunday, and lightning struck at home on a little lake that’s outside of our home—not a lake, a big pond—and hit a wire and came up underneath our home into the heating ducts—the air conditioning duct,” he said [2].

“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ‘67 Corvette—[ laughter ]—and my cat,” Biden said [2].

“But all kidding aside, I watched the firefighters, the way they responded,” he went on. “And the expression is, ‘God made man, and then he made a few firefighters.’ You’re all crazy, thank God.” [2]

He also told a family story. “My daughter taped on my mirror a quote from Kierkegaard. He said, ‘Faith sees best in the dark,’” Biden said [2].

“Jill and I are here to grieve with you, but also we want you to know the entire country is here for you. That’s not hyperbole. We mean that,” Biden said [2].

The video above shows Biden’s arrival on Maui on Aug. 21, 2023. Quotes are from the White House pool reports and the transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

”Good Morning From Rainy Lake Tahoe”

Biden flew in from vacation. “Good morning from rainy Lake Tahoe, where the POTUS and FLOTUS are preparing to head to Maui, Hawaii to assess the damage of the wildfires, and meet with residents, local leaders and first responders,” the pool reported that morning [1].

The pool had gathered “outside the community where the Biden family is vacationing around 6:30 a.m. local time,” the pooler wrote [1].

Air Force One “landed at the Kahului Airport at 11:11 local time, after a 5 hour & 13 min flight,” and the Bidens “deplaned AF1 in Kahului at 11:25 a.m.,” the pool reported [1].

After an aerial tour, “POTUS did not come over to address the pool. He did put on a baseball cap before getting into his vehicle,” according to the pool [1].

”Sixty-Three Minutes”

On the flight in, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton defended the President’s response. “On Thursday, August 10th, when the President was in Utah for the PACT Act anniversary event — that morning, he received — at 10:32 a.m., the White House received a major disaster declaration request from the state of Hawaii from the governor’s office. By 11:35, 63 minutes later, that had made its way through the White House, gone out to Utah, been printed and signed by this President,” she said [4].

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell gave the state of the search. “The number I did get last night was 85 percent of the area that has been searched, but we need to remember that this remaining 15 percent that’s out there includes several multistory, multifamily dwellings,” she said [4].

“You don’t have to take my word for it; I think you’re going to hear from state and local officials in Hawaii today about just how engaged and committed this President has been in the last two weeks,” Dalton said [4].

”Brian Schantz [Schatz]”

At the burned banyan tree on Front Street, Biden thanked the local officials and stumbled over two of their names. “Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke; Brian Schantz [Schatz; White House correction], our Senator,” he said. Later came “Mayor Rick Bassen [Bissen; White House correction].” The bracketed corrections are in the official transcript [3].

He joked with Sen. Mazie Hirono. “By the way, Mazie, I told my granddaughter, whose name is Maisy as well—she said, ‘That’s why I like her,’” Biden said [3].

He gave the toll. “America’s deadly wildfire—deadliest wildfire in over a century,” Biden said. “To date, 114 dead. Hundreds of people are unaccounted for.” [3]

“We’re going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want it built,” he promised [3].

Dexter and the Banyan Tree

Before his remarks on Front Street, Biden stopped for a dog. “At 12:38 p.m. POTUS petted a dog named Dexter. He said: ‘Did you guys catch the boots on here?’ The golden lab was, in fact, wearing boots on all four legs,” the pool reported [1].

He closed with the burned banyan tree. “And this banyan tree. One called it the ‘diamond in the rough of hope.’ Another referred to—‘Fire cannot reach its roots’ is what he said. ‘Fire cannot reach its roots.’ That’s Maui. That’s America,” Biden said [3].

”Back to Reno-Tahoe”

The visit lasted about five hours. “He and the FLOTUS, who was also wearing a lei, walked hand-in hand to AF1, where they waved before boarding at 4:36 p.m. POTUS did not respond to a shouted question about how he found the visit. We’re on our way back to Reno-Tahoe International,” the pooler wrote [1].

“AF1 landed at Reno-Tahoe International at 12:19 a.m. local time,” the final pool report said [1].

By the Numbers

114: deaths Biden cited [3].
5 hours, 11 minutes: from deplaning to boarding Air Force One, per the pool’s times [1].
5 hours, 13 minutes: the flight from Reno to Maui [1].
350: community members at Biden’s meeting with residents, per the White House [1].

What Happened Next

The questions kept coming. For the White House defending Biden’s beach weekend in Delaware the week before, see HYGO News’ page on Aug. 14, 2023.

Nine days after the Maui visit, Fox’s Peter Doocy asked whether the help was slow because Biden was on vacation. See the page on Aug. 30, 2023.