00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:06 To my left is the banyan tree, beloved by this community for over 150 years.
00:13 Here in the former capital of the kingdom, Hawaii, that has stood for
00:18 generations as a sacred spot of exceptional significance.
00:23 One of the people that took me under his wing when I first got to the center was
00:26 Danny Inouye.
00:27 He used to talk about the kingdom of Hawaii.
00:32 He came from Japan, but it was amazing to listen to him.
00:36 Today, it's burned, but it's still standing.
00:40 Trees survive for a reason.
00:42 I believe it's a powerful, a very powerful symbol of what we can and
00:46 will do to get through this crisis.
00:49 And for this, for as long as it takes, we're gonna be with you.
00:52 The whole country will be with you.
00:54 We will be respectful of the sacred grounds and the traditions
01:00 that rebuild the way the people of Maui want it built, not the way others want it
01:04 built, we're gonna rebuild the way the people of Maui want it built.
01:08 But it's gonna be hard.
01:11 America's deadliest wildfire in over a century.
01:16 And Jill and I have what's left of, walked Front Street, what's left of it.
01:20 We've surveyed the damage from the air as well.
01:23 The devastation is overwhelming.
01:26 To date, 114 dead, hundreds of people unaccounted for.
01:32 But I also want all of you to know the country grieves with you,
01:35 stands with you, and will do everything possible to help you recover, rebuild, and
01:40 respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place.
01:45 From stories of grief, we've seen so many stories of hope and heroism,
01:49 of the aloha spirit.
01:51 Every emergency responder put their lives on the line for us to save others.
01:55 Our everyday heroes, neighbors, helping neighbors,
01:59 native Hawaiian leaders offering solace and strength.
02:03 And this banyan tree, one called it the diamond in the rough of hope.
02:08 Another referred to fire cannot reach its roots,
02:11 which is that fire cannot reach its roots.
02:14 That's Maui, that's America.
02:16 And so the people of Hawaii, we're with you for as long as it takes,
02:20 I promise you.
02:21 May God bless all those we've lost.
02:23 May God find those who we haven't determined yet.
02:28 And may God bless you all.
Comments