The White House has taken steps this week to clarify to the country that when President Joe Biden responded to a reporter's question about the Maui wildfires by saying "no comment," he simply had not heard what was asked of him.

Administration officials are attempting to clarify Biden's response to a question about the devastating fires in Hawaii.. The president was criticized for his "no comment" response on Aug. 14th while he was on a beach vacation, as the fires destroyed homes and killed more than 100 people on the Hawaiian island and left hundreds more missing, as reported by the Daily Mail.

White House dismissed allegations against Biden

White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told the Mail that the president did not say "no comment" in relation to the Maui fires.

Dalton stated:

He didn't hear the question. He absolutely didn't say 'no comment' in relation to Maui. And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to being in daily contact with senior staff, FEMA, and state officials as he marshaled a whole-of-government response to the fires.

President Biden was at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware when he made the comment. Reporters traveling with him noted it was hard to hear the president's response to their question.

He had been on the beach with first lady Jill Biden and a group of family friends when he responded to the inquiry from the press.

Republicans come forward to criticize Biden

Republicans criticized the president's remarks, arguing that a someone who claims to be sensitive and empathetic was, in fact, being just the opposite.

The White House was slow to say whether or not Biden would visit the scene of the devastation. He ultimately did so but was accused of being tone-deaf and insensitive on that trip as well.

Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, slammed Biden's response, opining:

To say 'no comment' is oftentimes fine, but to be smiling when you say it, especially against such a tragedy as this, is absolutely horrible and unacceptable.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also took aim at the president, saying:

Biden was on the beach while those people were suffering. He was asked about it and said no comment. Are you kidding me? As somebody that has handled disasters in Florida, you have to be activated. You have to be there, present, and helping people who are doing.

Biden's visit to Maui

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on Monday.

However, Biden was criticized when he tried to relate to the victims by dredging up his own family history and talking about a decades-old kitchen fire in his home.

Maui County has released the names of 388 people still missing in the deadliest wildfire in American history, but officials believe that is a low estimate.

The number of confirmed dead stands at 115, a number the county said is expected to rise.

An additional 1,732 people who had been reported missing have been found safe as of Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Conclusion

• The White House clarified that President Joe Biden did not hear the question about the Maui fires when he responded with "no comment."
• Republicans criticized the president for being insensitive during the tragedy.
• President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the affected area, but the visit also faced prompted criticism.