'Contrived Empathy': Joe Biden Slammed by Hawaii Business Owner for 'Tone Deaf' Wildfire Speech
Some Hawaii residents are up in arms over the address President Joe Biden made when he touched down in the state amid Maui's raging wildfires.
Two days after the commander-in-chief gave his speech — in which he likened the fatal catastrophe to a home fire he once experienced — the company Hawaii Rent-All posted a sign ridiculing him for his words.
"Sorry you almost lost your '67 Corvette in a fire, Mr. President," the company's sign read. "Maui strong."
The business posted a photo of the sign on their Facebook page on Wednesday, August 23, to take another swing at Biden.
"Genuine sympathy is better than contrived empathy. It's not always about you Mr. President," stated the caption, which was followed with hashtags including "#tonedeaf" and #prayformaui."
The classic car was mentioned in Biden's speech, in which he said, "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."
"Years ago now, 15 years ago, I was in Washington doing Meet the Press. It was a sunny Sunday," he recalled. "Lightning struck at home, on a little lake that's outside of our home — not a lake, a big pond — and hit a wire that came up underneath our home into the heating ducts and air conditioning ducts. To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette, and my cat."
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It's not surprising that things didn't go over well with locals, as the POTUS was under fire earlier this month when he refused to comment on the wildfires while he vacationed with his family in Delaware.
However, at that point, Biden already declared the situation a major disaster for the country, meaning federal funding was "available to affected individuals in Maui County."
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"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," an official message from the POTUS' office read.