President Joe Biden is planning to visit Kentucky after the devasting tornado that left scores dead.
On Monday, the White House announced that the president will survey the damage from a tornado that left at least 64 people dead. He will attend a storm briefing in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and travel to Mayfield and Dawson Springs.
A video on Twitter showed the damage caused by the tornado in Mayfield.
Horrific & heart breaking images of #tornado damage coming out of Mayfield, #Kentucky at first light on Saturday. #KYwx #Tornado #Damage #SevereWeather pic.twitter.com/jvQO7mNnys
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) December 11, 2021
Biden told reporters on Monday, “We’re going to get this done we’re going to be there as long as it takes to help.”
He added, “We can’t say it was with absolute certainty” that climate change was responsible for the tornado. However, he said it “certainly is one of the worst disasters.”
Last month, Biden faced criticism for not traveling to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to visit the victims of the tragedy that unfolded when a driver plowed his car into a Christmas parade, killing at least six people.
President Biden's decision not to visit Waukesha, WI demonstrates he cares more about optics than the loss of life.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) November 30, 2021
Joe Biden has time to go to Minnesota to talk about "Build Back Better" but he doesn't have time to visit the victims in Waukesha?!
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) December 1, 2021
Biden was quick to visit Jacob Blake’s family a few days after his shooting, so I guess he hasn't visited any of the Waukesha families because they aren't the right color for the narrative 🤷🏾♀️
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) November 30, 2021
Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last month, “Since [Biden] said that this administration is monitoring the situation in Waukesha closely, it has revealed by prosecutors that the assailant swerved his truck side-to-side as part of an intentional act to run over as many people as possible…Why hasn’t [he] visited the members of this Christmas parade attack?”
“As you saw the president convey last week, our hearts go out to this community, to the people in Waukesha that we’ve been in touch, obviously, with officials there. We’re all watching as people are recovering, and this is such a difficult time of year for this to happen,” Psaki responded.
She continued, “Obviously, any president going to visit a community requires a lot of assets, requires taking their resources. It’s not something that I have a trip to preview at this point in time. But we remain in touch with local officials, and certainly, our hearts are with the community as they’ve gone through such a difficult time.”
In case you missed it:
Doocy: "Since [Biden] said that this administration is monitoring the situation in Waukesha closely, it has revealed…the assailant swerved his truck side-to-side to run over as many people as possible…Why hasn't [he] visited the members of this Christmas parade attack?" (6/6) pic.twitter.com/dAUvsP64Ff
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 29, 2021
As of Monday morning, Biden did not have plans to travel to Waukesha. However, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will travel to Waukesha on Wednesday. But, the White House did not disclose more details about their trip.