Here are the three main takeaways from Biden s Thursday visit.
One of Biden s greatest strengths is rooted in his own trauma
It s no secret that the president has faced horrors of his own throughout his 40-year political career.
He frequently talks about the deaths of his first wife, Neilia, their 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, and eldest son, Beau. He cited Beau s military service and unrelated death while paying tribute to the families of U.S. service members during a speech at Royal Air Force Mildenhall just last month.
But Thursday marked the latest time Biden took it upon himself to meet with families grieving their own tragic losses behind closed doors, with no press visibility.
President Joe Biden meets with first responders in Miami Beach, Fla., on Thursday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(CN) President Joe Biden flew to Florida on Thursday to meet with first responders and the families of those trapped in the rubble of the Surfside condominium collapse, as he tackles the first national disaster of his young presidency.
“Our message today is that we are here for you as one nation,” Biden said from the St. Regis Hotel in Miami.
Biden’s visit – his first to Florida since becoming president comes as 145 people remain unaccounted for a week after the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium mysteriously collapsed. Search-and-rescue teams have already pulled 18 bodies from the wreckage, including two children on Wednesday. The children, 4 and 10 years old, were sisters.
By Gordon Byrd
Jul 2, 2021
SURFSIDE President Biden visited the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse Thursday. He met with state and local officials, including Governor DeSantis, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the congresswoman who represents the area including the site collapse. Biden said he s holding out hope that there are still survivors in the rubble. He spoke with first responders, and then spent three hours with victims families. The president praised the work of first responders and urged them to take advantage of PTSD-related counseling that would be made available.
Biden said the degree of cooperation between local, state and federal authorities was remarkable. He said he had ordered federal officials to cut the bureaucracy and expedite support. Biden announced that the federal government would pick up search and rescue for the first 30 days of the search.
By Gordon Byrd
Jul 2, 2021
SURFSIDE President Biden visited the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse Thursday. He met with state and local officials, including Governor DeSantis, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the congresswoman who represents the area including the site collapse. Biden said he s holding out hope that there are still survivors in the rubble. He spoke with first responders, and then spent three hours with victims families. The president praised the work of first responders and urged them to take advantage of PTSD-related counseling that would be made available.
Biden said the degree of cooperation between local, state and federal authorities was remarkable. He said he had ordered federal officials to cut the bureaucracy and expedite support. Biden announced that the federal government would pick up search and rescue for the first 30 days of the search.
By Gordon Byrd
Jul 2, 2021
SURFSIDE President Biden visited the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse Thursday. He met with state and local officials, including Governor DeSantis, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the congresswoman who represents the area including the site collapse. Biden said he s holding out hope that there are still survivors in the rubble. He spoke with first responders, and then spent three hours with victims families. The president praised the work of first responders and urged them to take advantage of PTSD-related counseling that would be made available.
Biden said the degree of cooperation between local, state and federal authorities was remarkable. He said he had ordered federal officials to cut the bureaucracy and expedite support. Biden announced that the federal government would pick up search and rescue for the first 30 days of the search.