Just when you thought the White House's messaging on the devastating Maui fire couldn't get any worse, Karine Jean-Pierre comes busting through the wall like the Kool-Aid man. 

Joe Biden had already made a mess of things multiple times by the time the press secretary took the podium. As RedState reported, when asked by reporters on Sunday about the situation in Maui, including the federal government's response, Biden gleefully kept riding his bike while simply saying "We're looking at it." On Monday, he made matters even worse by smiling and shouting "No comment" at reporters when asked about the rising death toll and a possible visit to the area.

In light of that, a president should typically be able to trust his top comms official to not make matters worse, but when you have Karine Jean-Pierre at the helm, nothing is certain. As she opened her latest briefing, things immediately devolved into an embarrassing scene of incompetence.

Karine Jean-Pierre mispronounces Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono's name, calls her a "he," then mispronounces Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz's name pic.twitter.com/7nIEA7Xayd

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 14, 2023

Nothing says "we care" about those suffering like the White House not even knowing the names of both senators from Hawaii, and in the case of Sen. Mazie Hirono, not even knowing she's a woman. By no means am I a fan of Hirono as I think she's one of the worst politicians in America (and certainly one of the most vapid), but calling her a man is a bit harsh. Jean-Pierre's flubs make it seem like she did zero leg work, and in turn, that makes it seem as if the administration isn't taking the situation seriously. Rather, it's just an inconvenient speed bump in the middle of the president's current vacation schedule.

Honestly, how hard is it to double-check one's briefing notes before giving a statement to ensure proper pronunciation given the sensitive nature of the topic? Apparently, it's as hard as Joe Biden answering a question about the Maui fire without appearing like a cold-hearted sociopath. This administration certainly has its characters, and none of them are especially good at their jobs. That's been a running theme for a White House which campaigned on putting the "adults back in the room." If these are the adults, then let's reinstate the daycare.

What is even the strategy here? Is Biden this uncontrollable and his comms department this incompetent? Or is the White House full of people that are so arrogant that they don't even worry about optics anymore? It's probably a bit of both when you consider all angles. 

Regardless, you've got at least 89 people dead (and likely many more deaths to be reported) and the administration is treating the Maui fire like a random political issue. It's jarring to see their lack of detail of care, and if this were a Republican president putting on this show, the deluge of negative stories about it from the press would be overwhelming.