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Maui resident grows visibly emotional as family continues

to suffer from wildfires: 'Where's the President?'
'I mean, aren’t we Americans, too?' Ella Sable Tacderan asked, telling CNN she felt ignored by President Biden
By Jeffrey Clark Fox News

Published August 18, 2023 9:13am EDT

Maui resident grows visibly emotional as family continues to suffer from wildfires: 'Where's the President?'
A Maui resident said it felt like Hawaiians suffering from the fallout of the Maui wildfires are "being ignored" by the government, during an emotional CNN
interview.

A Maui resident grew visibly emotional during a CNN appearance Thursday, asking why
President Joe Biden was taking so long to visit and asked if Hawaiians aren’t "Americans
too."

"It'sreally affecting me because where’s the President?" Maui resident Ella Sable Tacderan
asked. "I mean, aren’t we Americans, too? We’re part of the United States. Why are we
getting put in the back pocket? Why are we being ignored?"

Biden notably waited to announce that he was coming to visit Hawaii until Tuesday. When
initially asked by a reporter if he had "any comment on the rising death toll in Maui" a few
days earlier on Sunday, Biden said he had "no comment."

HAWAII WILDFIRE BECOMES DEADLIEST US BLAZE IN MORE THAN A CENTURY AS

DEATH TOLL REACHES 93, EXPECTED TO GROW

Maui resident Ella Sable Tacderan appeared on CNN Thursday night and pleaded for federal assistance following the
deadly Maui wildfires. (CNN / Screenshot)

Biden announced that he would visit Hawaii during an event in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

"My wife Jill and I are gonna travel to Hawaii as soon as we can, and that's what I've been
talking to the governor about. I don't want to get in the way. I've been to too many disaster
areas but I want to go and make sure they've got everything they need, and I want to be
,

sure we don't disrupt the ongoing recovery efforts," he said.

The president and first lady are expected to travel to Hawaii on Monday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on criticism that Biden was
ignoring the disaster in an appearance on CNN Wednesday.

"He has been talking about this," Jean-Pierre told "CNN This Morning" co-host Phil
Mattingly, adding that the relief work in Hawaii is "a long-term effort."

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE PUSHES BACK ON BIDEN IGNORING MAUI WILDFIRES: 'HE HAS
BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on criticism that Biden was ignoring the disaster in an
appearance on CNN Wednesday. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Tacderan claimed that her parents have received a small check of $700 from the
government, which she said felt like a "slap in the face."

"My parents received a check for $700, which was a slap in the face," she told CNN host
Kaitlan Collins. "$700 was given by the government, and I feel like it’s not enough. Living in
Hawaii ," she added, "everything is so expensive. Groceries can be as much as $700 just for
one grocery run. And it’s not enough."

Tacderan pointed out that elderly families in Hawaii are basically "computer illiterate,"
which may be the reason why some of them are being "turned away" on their applications
for aid from FEMA.

This photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources shows burnt areas in Lahaina on the Maui
island, Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP)

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Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter
for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the
University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History.

Story tips can be sent to jeffrey.clark@fox.com.

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