Millions of Americans are freezing, with no power in Texas for the fourth day in a row and at least 21 people dead, but President Joe Biden is publicly ignoring the crisis.
Freezing temperatures and winter storms paralyzed power generation plants, leading to rolling blackouts across the south-central part of the country.
But the president, who campaigned on bringing back “empathy” to the White House, has still not publicly spoken about the first major disaster of his administration.
Americans typically expect their presidents to voice their concerns during a disaster and demonstrate they are doing everything in their power to help them.
Biden, however, made no mention of Americans struggling in Texas and surrounding states during a lengthy CNN town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night.
Returning back to the White House, however, he stopped to express sympathy for reporters waiting in the cold.
“You’re in the cold so late. It’s a hell of a job description you have,” he said to the media.
Behind the scenes, however, Biden is somewhat engaged with the leaders of the affected states.
The White House told the Associated Press that Biden spoke in a conference call Tuesday with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D), Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), Mississippi Gov.Tate Reeves (R), and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R).
The president told governors that he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for their citizens and pledged to deploy federal emergency resources as needed, according to the White House.
The millions of Americans suffering without power face a second round of winter storms Thursday, extending the crisis.
The Biden administration has instead focused the majority of the president’s public statements on fighting the coronavirus, vaccinating Americans, and the importance of his $1.9 trillion aid package.