President Biden told Maui the nation ‘grieves with you’ in his first visit to the island since wildfires ravaged the city of Lahaina and the surrounding community. 

‘The devastation is overwhelming, to date 114 dead,’ Biden said, before launching into a lengthy anecdote about his own loss of his first wife Naomi and one-year-old daughter in a car accident in 1972. 

While the death toll in Maui has topped 114, some 850 remain missing.  

‘We’re focused on what’s next as rebuilding a long, long term rebuilding for long term and doing it together to help get us back on our feet to rebuild the way we want to rebuild,’ Biden told the crowd as charred rubble lay in his background.

‘By making sure your voices are heard, by respecting your traditions, by understanding the deep history and meaning the sacred ground and establishing your community not to change his character but reestablish it. We’re also going to bring the capabilities to help you rebuild. So your critical infrastructure is more resilient in the future. That all of this matters. I mean, closer this from stories of grief. We’ve seen so many stories of hope and heroism of the aloha spirit.’

Biden had touched down in Kahalui hours earlier. He and First Lady Jill paused their summer vacation at Lake Tahoe in Nevada on Monday to visit Hawaii.

Biden visited with those who lost homes and loved ones during the disaster and was briefed by public officials. The White house said he has continued to receive briefings over the weekend, after Biden issued a series of public statements on the disaster following his early stumbles.

The president appeared more somber in tone when he met with local officials than when he told a reporter he had ‘no comment’ on the inferno’s devastation while relaxing at his Delaware beach house last Sunday.

Biden was met with some protests from local residents who held signs with messages like ‘he’s too late,’ ‘he should’ve been here much earlier,’ and ‘actions speak louder than words.’ 

The 114 person death toll already makes the inferno one of the nation’s deadliest in history – and an estimated 1,000 people are still unaccounted for. Officials are still analyzing the factors that contributed to the massive inferno, including problems with its electrical grid.

The president left behind a more tranquil setting – he is renting the home of billionaire former presidential candidate and climate activist Tom Steyer on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe.

He has been accompanied on that vacation by his son Hunter, who has been dealing with the collapse of his plea deal on tax charges, and whose probe is now being overseen by U.S. attorney David Weiss in the role of special prosecutor. 

After taking criticism for his ‘no comment’ while at the beach, Biden has been making repeated references to the tragedy. 

He spoke at Camp David about financial contributions by Japan and South Korea announced at the summit, then boarded Marine One to make his way to Nevada.

‘I want to start by expressing my appreciation for the contribution that your countries have made for relief following the devastating wildfires in Hawaii. I want to thank you both on behalf of the American people,’ he said. Biden also said FEMA was preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Hilary in Southern California.