A Maui resident called on President Joe Biden to honor his promises to the people of Lahaina and help them rebuild after the wildfires — not "better," but the way that the locals want.
"We're gonna build back better," Biden said at Lahaina Civic Center in Maui Monday. "We’re going to rebuild the way the people of Maui want to rebuild." His speech came after the Biden family interrupted a week-long vacation in the Lake Tahoe area for the five-hour flight to Lahaina to meet with residents displaced from the wildfires.
One resident, Alicia Kalepa, spoke to Biden’s claims that he would direct that the island would be built back "better."
"As far as building a 'better' community or 'better' homes than what we had — I unfortunately didn't like that," Kalepa said to Hawaii News Now about Biden's visit. "For Kapuna and for the Lahaina family, and for a lot of people that had lost what they had lost, there's no replacing that, there's no 'better,' there's no 'new.’"
"Forgive me, if I might have misunderstood him, but that didn't sit very well with my heart," she said.
"We appreciate him coming to see what had happened, the devastation. He is now speaking to some families, which we greatly appreciate, but I’m going to hold him to what he said," she continued, "building it the way that we want it."
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"I hope he keeps his word," Kalepa said.
Biden has received criticism for his treatment of the residents on Maui following the wildfires that have taken the lives of over 110 people.
The president met and shook hands with a group of officials, stopping in front of a search and rescue dog.
While petting the dog, he joked about the boots the canine was wearing. "You guys catch the boots out here?" Biden appeared to ask the press watching him. He smiled and said, "That’s some hot ground, man."
Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said Monday that 850 names were on a list of missing people.
"We are both saddened and relieved about these numbers as we continue the recovery process," Bissen said. "The number of identified will rise, and the number of missing may decrease."
Fox News' Louis Casiano and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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