Nails on a chalkboard

The president visited Maui this week (which he mistakenly referred to as "the Big Island") and did little to relieve the pain of those who have suffered a monumental loss from wildfires that killed at least 114 people with more than 800 missing and many homes completely destroyed.

In this heavily Democratic state, Biden was greeted with signs that said, "go home" and expletives that can’t be printed in a family newspaper. He pledged a paltry $700 in relief aid to each family, which one critic said barely covers the cost of high-priced groceries. Apparently they haven’t gotten the message that Bidenomics "is working," according to the president. Some rightly asked why Ukraine is receiving billions of dollars in U.S. aid and Maui is getting chump change by comparison. Good question.

In a bizarre statement the president said: "I don’t want to compare difficulties (which he proceeded to do), but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it’s like to lose a home. Years ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing 'Meet the Press' it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake outside our home — not a lake, a pond."

Glad he cleared that up.

Biden said the spark went through wires and into the heating ducts and then the kitchen. "To make a long story short (we wish) I almost lost my wife, my ’67 Corvette and my cat." In fact, according to AP, firefighters arrived in time to contain the fire to the kitchen, which was nothing like the massive loss of homes in Maui.

This is supposed to qualify as empathy for families who have suffered far more serious losses.

Biden asked a rescue team whether their boots were reinforced, mentioning the "hot ground" beneath. The Daily Mail called the remark "a tone-deaf attempt at humor."

After his brief visit, the president returned to what seems like his endless summer vacation, this time in the Lake Tahoe home of billionaire Tom Steyer. The house is said to be worth $18 million. The White House claims the Bidens are paying "fair market value" for their time there but won’t say how much. Math was not my best subject in school but fair market value on such an expensive house has to run into five or six figures depending on the length of their stay. Does anyone believe the Bidens will be paying that much, if anything? Perhaps Hunter Biden, who is also a guest, can underwrite the cost from the money he’s allegedly received from his business dealings about which the president claims to know nothing. The New York Post reports Nevada officials are investigating the Biden visit because it could violate a local housing law.

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, are still waiting on a promised visit by the president. It’s been nearly seven months since a train carrying toxic chemicals and combustibles derailed, poisoning water, killing thousands of fish and displacing residents.

Watching the video of the president’s remarks in Maui, his continuing confusion, his inappropriate jokes and attempts to identify with the pain Maui residents feel is painful in itself.

Democrats are worried as evidenced by polls that show a majority don’t want the president to seek re-election. Polls show it’s the same when it comes to Donald Trump.

No wonder Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking a political makeover. In baseball, one might say she is the relief pitcher for the Democrat team, warming up in the bullpen. The problem for her and for him is that their images are already deeply embedded in the public’s mind.

Scratch, scratch.

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Cal Thomas, America's most-syndicated columnist, is the author of 10 books.