TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! Biden uses awkward expression as he gets LA wildfire update.
President Joe Biden kept telling officials to ‘fire away’ as he was briefed Thursday on the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Biden assembled Vice President Kamala Harris and other federal officials to give him an update on where things stood on the wildfires – as three large fires continued to burn through homes and businesses in Southern California.
The president spoke first and then turned the conversation to Harris – a California native and whose Brentwood home has been threatened by the blazes.
‘I know you’re directly affected, so you fire away,’ Biden said causing Harris to make a face. ‘No pun intended,’ the president added.
As he had other officials take their turns he used the phrase three more times, prompting an online outcry once the initial exchange with Harris started going viral.
‘People have lost their homes and some have even lost their lives and this guy has jokes,’ on X user commented. ‘Guy sure knows when to make a one liner,’ another offered.
Biden also used the meeting to subtly call out President-elect Donald Trump for politicizing the fires – and tried to tamp down some of the disinformation being spread around about water shortages.
‘You all do a hell of a job,’ he told his team*. ‘And we’ve learned, unfortunately so much. And there is, in case you haven’t noticed, there is global warming – it does change weather patterns,’ he said.