During a White House briefing on the LA wildfires, the US President made an apparent misstep with his choice of words multiple times.
California continues to be ravaged by deadly fires, with thousands of acres, along with buildings and homes, being destroyed in neighborhoods such as Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Hurst, and Lidia in Los Angeles.
The inferno has, at the time of reporting, resulted in at least 10 fatalities, and experts caution that the number could increase as high winds are expected to further fuel the flames.
The situation is far from under control, as firefighters face challenges in containing the blaze with diminishing water supplies.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that all three of its one-million-gallon water tanks, which provide water to fire hydrants in Pacific Palisades, were depleted by 3am on Wednesday.
While addressing the federal response to the crisis in Washington, the President faced criticism for his choice of words.
Joe Biden twice used the phrase ‘fire away’ on Thursday, visibly startling those gathered around the Roosevelt Room board table.
He addressed the Californian Vice President, Kamala Harris, saying: “Madam Vice President, I know you’re directly affected, so you fire away.”
Upon noticing her surprised reaction, Biden added: “No pun intended,” eliciting some laughter in the room.
However, moments later, he used the expression again when speaking to US Forest Service Chief Randy Moore: “Chief, why don’t you fire away?”
He seemingly repeated the phrase at least two more times.
Twitter users have criticized the President’s comments, labeling them ‘disgraceful,’ ‘despicable,’ and ‘disgusting.’
The President ultimately assured that the federal government would provide California with full financial support for 180 days to combat the fires.
However, the 82-year-old criticized local power companies for cutting off electricity and praised the Democrat California governor, Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. This came after President-elect Donald Trump urged Newsom to resign, blaming him for the fires.
Biden stated: “What I know from talking to the governor [is] that there are concerns out there that there’s also been a water shortage.
“The fact is, the utilities understandably shut off power because they’re worried the lines that carry energy were going to be blown down and spark additional fires.
“There’s a direct correlation between the utility company and the ability to pump water out of a hydrant. And so it allows for a lot of uninformed people to make assertions or concerns or accusations about the local officials not caring or not working.”
These accusations arose as two of the area’s electricity providers denied responsibility for the hydrants running dry, asserting that the water pumps and water flows ‘were not affected by power outages,’ according to the New York Times.
This criticism came just a day after Biden was denounced for sharing his ‘good news’ of becoming a great-grandfather during a visit to a Santa Monica fire station.