‘Aren’t we Americans too?’ Maui fire survivor bashes Biden for still not visiting island

Maui resident Ella Sable Tacderan appeared in the interview with CNN host Kaitlyn Collins. Tacderan was part of 23 different families that were displaced from their homes by the fires.

When being interviewed by Collins, Tacderan said that the $700 payments that the Biden administration had sent to her parents felt like a "slap in the face" from the government. She explained that in Hawaii it can be "as much as $700 just for one grocery run, and it's not enough."

"Right now, the Maui community is helping the Maui community and it's really affected me because - where's the president?" Tacderan asked. "Why are we being ignored?... I feel like families need aid right away, and they're being turned away."

Biden, in addition to being criticized by the resident who was close to tears over his actions, decided to visit Maui on Monday, taking time from his week-long family vacation in Nevada. He was seen with First Lady Jill Biden coming off Air Force One in the state.

President Biden has taken close to 40 percent of his days off during his unfinished term as president. Just earlier this month, he took time off at his vacation home in Delaware.

There has been a strong backlash against Biden for his actions with Hawaii, first starting when he told reporters, "No comment," in regard to his reaction to the brutal fires as he was coming off his vacation on the beach in Delaware.

Justin Sink, a reporter who posted about Biden's comments, posted a picture on X of Biden on the beach relaxing prior to his statement to the reporters.

The destruction of the Maui fires may be connected to the failures of an electric company to turn off power lines. Other actions from government officials may have contributed to the death toll, which will likely climb as search and rescue teams comb through the remaining debris.