Podcast host Joe Rogan and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard expressed heavy criticism of the Biden administration over its response to the Maui wildfire disaster and the lack of support residents have received.
Rogan, the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, discussed how the Pentagon revealed earlier this year it had overvalued military aid to Ukraine, which is continuing its war with Russia that started in February of last year, by $6 billion. Upon learning about this money "accidentally" sent to Ukraine, Rogan went to see how much it would cost to rebuild all the homes damaged or destroyed by the wildfires in Hawaii, with the total being $5 billion.
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"That's just like accidental money, but there's no talk of doing that," Rogan said. "There's no talk of doing that. Isn't that interesting?"
Gabbard, who used to be a member of the Democratic Party, agreed with Rogan, adding that she visited Maui and said people asked if the Biden administration would give them money for repairs "if we started to call ourselves Ukraine." She also took issue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to the tragedy, which offered all victims of the wildfires a one-time payment of $700 per household.
"Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the entire country — the entire country," Gabbard said. "And how fricking insulting is it to have the lead disaster response administrator from the Biden administration stand there and proudly say, 'Hey, we're giving everybody one $700 payment.'"
Rogan agreed, saying it was "insane."
President Joe Biden has been criticized by many Republican lawmakers over his administration's response to the wildfires because Biden was vacationing in Delaware when the fires first broke out in early August and waited two weeks before stepping foot on Maui. His trip to Hawaii took place during a scheduled vacation in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
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The president has defended his response to the fires and has pledged to provide prolonged federal assistance with the rebuilding effort in addition to the one-time payments the administration is providing directly to families.
In late August, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency will focus on prioritizing available funding toward Hurricane Idalia, the Maui wildfires, and “any other extreme weather events that may come our way without interruption.”