Though opinions no doubt vary, in mine I don't think it's even arguable at this point that the failures of key Hawaii officials in their handling of the Maui fire crisis likely led to more deaths and devastation.  And sadly, the death toll, which now stands at 114, is likely to climb as over 800 people are reportedly still unaccounted for.

But the Biden administration's response to the tragedy that has unfolded has also been a disaster in its own right, brought on mostly by President Joe Biden himself, starting with his initial callous pre-vacation "no comment" answer when asked about the rising death toll, and not improving one bit from there.

So with all of that in mind, many of Biden's critics were left shaking their heads in disbelief after the statement made Monday by White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton on how Biden would tell Maui residents during his visit later in the day that he had been there for them "since day one":

Biden spokesperson Olivia Dalton says Biden will "make sure that he communicates to [Maui residents] that not only have we been there since day one, has he been there since day one..." 🤔 pic.twitter.com/NgK2quOhxf

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 21, 2023

Yeah, no, we know that's not true and we know that even though our illustrious (ha!) fact-checkers in the MSM have not gotten on the case (and likely won't).

As you might expect, whether they were made aware of Dalton's remarks or not, some Maui residents have made it clear that Joe Biden is not welcome in their community

Like this one:

This is in Kehei, a town in the middle of Maui. pic.twitter.com/HZcBF3SG5H

— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) August 21, 2023

And these residents:

HAWAII: Maui natives and locals slam President Biden ahead of his visit to the island.

We have yet to find one person who is excited/looking forward to his "hand shaking ceremony" at the Lahaina post office. pic.twitter.com/KZrP7u0gPc

— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) August 21, 2023

I've seen some of Biden's defenders say on Twitter that he's in a no-win situation, that no matter what he does he's going to get criticized for how he handles this. 

But the problem with that is that he could have avoided some of the criticism by at least putting on the appearance of being a leader instead of leaving for what is his umpteenth vacation (twice in one week!) this summer and at the very least pretending to care when asked by a reporter about the lives that have been lost.

As RedState readers know all too well, Republican presidents have been raked over the coals by the Usual Suspects in the media and on the left in the past for far more minor offenses in the aftermath of national tragedies than Joe Biden has committed here. 

So no, even though Joe Biden will get a pass on this in the press, he absolutely shouldn't get a pass on it in the court of public opinion, which ultimately is what matters the most.

Related: Joe Biden Hit With Ice-Cold Inconvenient Reminder as He Begins (Another) Vacation