WH spokesperson botches names, gender of Hawaii Democrat senators
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre both mispronounced the names of Hawaii’s two Democratic senators and misgendered one of them at a Monday press conference after the island suffered the most devastating US wildfire in more than a century.
“Senator Harino [sic], who I said the president spoke to just last night, he thanked the president for the immediate support of federal agencies have delivered for residents of Hawaii,” the Biden administration’s chief spokesperson told reporters, “and so does, has, so has Senator Shorts, Sharts — Schatz.”
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), the first female senator from the Aloha State, is serving her second term in the upper chamber after having been a member of the House of Representatives for two consecutive terms.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is serving his second full term after having been tapped in 2012 by Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie to replace the late Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye.
“The president is deeply concerned about the people in Maui to the point where he has mobilized a whole-of-government approach here, as he has done many times to deal with these wildfires in Hawaii,” Jean-Pierre went on.
The White House press secretary cited 300 field personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as 50,000 meals and 75,000 liters of water provided after a disaster declaration was declared last Thursday.
“And the president and the first lady has been very clear about offering, certainly their condolences, and making sure that we continue this whole of government approach,” she added.
“That is not going to stop. The president has also committed to being there for the government of Hawaii, the people of Maui for as long as it takes.”
The president told reporters Sunday he had “no comment” on the death and devastation during his weekend retreat to his beach home in Delaware — and sidestepped reporters upon his return to the White House on Monday morning.
Biden, 80, also said Sunday his staff was “looking at” visiting the Aloha State when the time was right after having approved a disaster declaration last week.
The White House later attributed a statement to Biden on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
“As residents of Hawai’i mourn the loss of life and devastation taking place across their beautiful home, we mourn with them. Like I’ve said, not only our prayers are with those impacted – but every asset we have will be available to them,” the statement read.
Hirono and Schatz called on President Biden to approve a disaster declaration for wildfires that blazed across Maui last week, killing at least 96.
“We request your help to expedite all federal assistance possible to help the state recover from devastating fires in Maui and Hawaii counties,” they and other Hawaii lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden the day before. “Communities in both counties will need substantial support to recover from fires that are devastating some of the State’s most iconic cultural and economic centers.”
“These fires are absolutely devastating, and we will not know the full extent of the damage for a while,” Schatz said in a statement last Thursday. “In the meantime, the highest priority is the safety of the people.”
The wildfire was the worst-ever natural disaster in Hawaii’s history and the deadliest since the 1918 Cloquet fire in Minnesota and Wisconsin, which killed 453 people, National Fire Protection Association data shows.
