Asked About Missing Children, Maui Mayor Threatens to Shut Down Press Conference

As Rick reported earlier today, Joe Biden has only further embarrassed himself in his belated break from vacations to visit Maui. Normally Biden’s continued string of gaffes would be a source of hilarity, but in light of the magnitude of the tragedy, Biden is invoking the ire and disgust not only of the islanders but of the nation. But the tone deafness does not end with Biden. As I reported last week, a combination of events brought on by the bureaucracy and a zombie-like adherence to the progressive agenda is more than likely to blame.

Ideally, the people at the state and local levels who could have prevented or minimized the death and destruction would own up to their carelessness, admit that they failed, accept whatever penalties, sanctions, or justifiable rage is due them before fading quietly into obscurity, and subsequently never involve themselves in public service again. But the people of Maui, it seems, are to be denied even that, as even the government seems to have taken to covering its tracks and shifting the focus away from themselves.

During a press conference, a reporter tussled with Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen over a reasonable question: How many children are missing? You can watch the exchange below.

Reporter: “How many children are missing?”

Maui Mayor: “I guess we can end this right now, if you want”@ScottAdamsSayspic.twitter.com/T3pxGTDOLd

— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) August 21, 2023

To be fair, “I don’t know,” is, at first blush, a perfectly reasonable answer. The intensity of the heat and flames and the situation with the displaced people may make it next to impossible to recover or account for all of the missing people. And the reporter is obviously agitated, which is understandable.

The mayor could have said something to the effect of, “It would not be prudent to disclose that information at this time as we are still in the process of recovering and identifying the deceased. To facilitate that, we are doing the following…” Maybe it would not have been the perfect answer, but it would have at least shown that the authorities are trying to resolve the issue and that they take the matter seriously.

It is perfectly acceptable to say, “We don’t have an answer, we’re working on that answer, and we expect to have that information at (a particular date and time).” And the reporter’s question was legit. There has to be at least a rough estimate. But, either because he is ashamed of how this catastrophe has been handled and refuses to admit it, or he is arrogant, Bissen threatened to shut the presser down, complete with the remonstrance, “It only takes one or two to ruin it for everybody,” and then whined about people not “waiting their turn.” This was a press conference about a tragedy of almost immeasurable proportions. Not a high school freshman mixer. One X user commented:

He didn’t expect to be challenged when he waltzed in there. They expect us to be grateful to the almighty government officials just gracing victims with their 20-minute photo opp

— Tower_Mark (@MarkTower_gab) August 21, 2023

Forget that Bissen’s reply was an insult to that reporter and the others who responded. It was an insult to every family or person who is wondering if their loved ones will be found and who is bracing themselves to start the grieving process.