Biden says he’ll visit Hawaii after deadly wildfires

MILWAUKEE – President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he would travel to Hawaii to inspect damage on Maui after the country’s deadliest wildfires in over a century ripped through the island, killing at least 99 people and devastating an entire coastal town.

“My wife, Jill, and I are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can,” Biden said in a speech focused on the economy at a wind and electric power manufacturing plant in Milwaukee. “That’s what I’ve been talking to the governor about, but I don’t want to get in the way.”

Biden had not addressed the Maui wildfires since last week, when he declared a federal emergency and issued a statement with condolences for the families of those who died. His relative silence had drawn criticism from Republicans, which led to pushback from the White House.

Biden spoke with Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii and Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, during his flight to Milwaukee, White House officials said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.