Biden Treats Deadly Hurricane Disaster As An Inconvenience

Joe Biden needs lots of rest. Earning $400,000 a year as president of the United States is exhausting work.

And it’s been a rough weekend for Biden. His schedule had him starting his weekend time off at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Friday at 2:15 p.m., but it was 3:30 before his motorcade snarled local traffic on Route 1 on his way to the beach. Gaa! Late.

Then when he got to his beach house, thanks to Hurricane Helene, the sky was overcast, and the waves were really high. Don’t you hate when you go to the beach and the weather is subpar?

Meanwhile Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee were being terrorized by Helene. Flooding surged into villages and cities. Mudslides and torrents of water washed away everything in their path: homes, bridges, powerlines.

By Saturday, millions were without power, hundreds — maybe thousands — of vehicles were destroyed, and most devastating, by Sunday, more than 110 people were reported dead.

Wails of grief and heartache surely echoed throughout the land as broken Americans came to understand the enormity of what was lost. Lives changed forever this weekend.

Fortunately, Biden’s 1967 Corvette Stingray was safe and dry in his beach home garage.

Saturday, Biden’s communications staff pulled together a 190-word statement in response.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the Southeast. As the storm continues to track north, Vice President Harris and I remain focused on life-saving and life-sustaining response and recovery efforts. I am being regularly briefed by my team on the ongoing response efforts,” said the statement, written in first person, but not in Biden’s voice. “The road to recovery will be long, but know that my Administration will be with you every step of the way. We’re not going to walk away. We’re not going to give up.”

It is doubtful the millions of people without electricity heard about Biden’s message, but if they did, it probably didn’t make them feel better.

The meaningless statement simply checked a box. Someone whips up a statement and, bam! Hurricane handled. Now back to my weekend.

Granted, the statement said Biden was in constant contact with state and local officials, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was traveling throughout the Southeast to assess the damage. That is basic protocol in these situations.

What the American people are looking for here is a leader. A healer-in-chief who will show up in person, look victims in the eyes and say, “Wow. This is awful. We ache with you. With the strength of the nation, we are going to make it better.”

But with so many powerlines down, they would have to bring in a generator to power up the teleprompter and get a speechwriter to work on the weekend to craft some authentic sounding words.

These moments matter, and Biden knows how to do this. He met with George Floyd’s family in 2020 while on the campaign trail to express sympathy over his death during an interaction with Minneapolis police.

And he went to Maui in August 2023 after the devastating fire there that killed 102 people.  

There is no political upside for Biden to show up anymore. He is the lamest of lame ducks.

Good thing he has an eager vice president ready to prove herself as she campaigns for the presidency.

Harris responded to Helene with a 158-word statement.  

“My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene. Doug and I are thinking of those who tragically lost their lives and we are keeping all those who loved them in our prayers during the difficult days ahead,” the statement said.

When someone’s life is turned upside down, sometimes the only comfort you can offer is to drop everything and show up for them.

Posting a staff-written statement on the White House website is not leadership. Biden and Harris are either oblivious to the pain of this moment, or they just don’t care.

Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.