Biden Maui Wildfire Response Ignites Republican Anger Over Ukraine Aid

Republicans are continuing to pile on President Joe Biden over his underwhelming response to recent, devastating wildfires in Hawaii, with some prominent conservatives online accusing Biden of caring more about funding Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia than his own citizens.

In a series of posts on social media, right-wing provocateurs like Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk and Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene lobbed accusations at the Biden administration for seemingly not caring about the Pacific island state amid a weekend getaway to Delaware this past weekend.

Some 96 people have died in the wildfires, according to media reports, while countless more are still unaccounted for. However, Biden—who spent several hours sunbathing on the beach near his home in Rehoboth Beach under the watchful eye of the White House press corps—was less than detailed in his early statements about the blazes, telling reporters only "we're looking at it" when questioned on a bike ride later during the day.

The White House released an at-length statement Monday morning with details of the federal government's response, saying "not only our prayers are with those impacted—but every asset we have will be available to them."

Others, however, saw the delay in publicly acknowledging the devastation as a sign he took domestic issues less seriously than his country's role in supporting the Ukrainian war effort, which has been a regular target for Republicans amid claims the funds were helping enrich the country's entrenched aristocracy with little-to-no oversight by Congress.

"When you send $150 billion to Ukraine don't be shocked when your own country is on fire and your leaders don't care," Kirk wrote on social media shortly before the president's statement.

"Joe Biden: Send more billions to Ukraine! No comment for Maui," Greene wrote.

It's factually untrue Biden did nothing for Hawaii in the immediate aftermath of the wildfires.

As news of the devastation first broke after the breakout of the fires on August 8, the White House declared a major disaster exists in the state and ordered continuing aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires. And Biden, who was on the road in Utah at the time, authorized an all-call response by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard to address the fires.

However, the estimated cost of the wildfires—$6 billion, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green—pales in comparison to the $113 billion in aid the United States has sent to Ukraine since the outbreak of war last winter, according to estimates provided to Congress in June. On Monday, the Pentagon announced it would be sending an additional $200 million military aid package to Ukraine to purchase munitions for Patriot air defense systems and HIMARS (among other things), drawing additional anger from other right-wing influencers.

"As American citizens in Lahaina, Maui suffer from the loss of life and property President Joe Biden has just sent $200M worth of artillery rounds, air defense munitions and other weapons to Ukraine," Colin Rugg, publisher of right-wing propaganda site Trending Politics wrote on social media. "Nearly 100 people have been confirmed dead in the Maui fires, over 2000 structures have been destroyed and thousands have been displaced. I hope Biden had a great vacation."

The disaster represents another setback for the Biden administration.

Biden's Hawaii response has quickly drawn comparisons to the administration's bungled response to a major train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, when U.S. transit czar Pete Buttigieg—whose agency was among the first to respond to the wreck—faced days of public criticism for his delay in visiting the crash site in-person.

But the recent response also draws a sharp contrast to the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, where President Donald Trump's administration was discovered to have delayed more than $20 billion in hurricane relief aid for the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, according to a 2021 Office of the Inspector General report.

However, Trump did travel to the island in person to acknowledge the crisis—including a much-maligned incident in which he tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd of the storm's survivors.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House press office via email for comment.