Biden mocked as he recalls losing home to lightning strike while comforting Florida’s hurricane victims

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: President Joe Biden claimed to be aware of how "devastating" it is to lose one's home in a natural calamity while visiting hurricane-hit Florida on Sunday, October 13.

According to Sky News, the incumbent was in the state to survey the destruction caused by Hurricane Milton which swept the state on Wednesday evening, two weeks after Hurricane Helene. While Helene killed 236 people across six states, at least 17 lives perished during Milton.

The incumbent did an aerial survey of the state in a helicopter before heading for St Petersburg.

Florida is suffering from millions of dollars worth of damage from the two storms, with people in some parts still struggling to get access to electricity and fuel.

With the National Weather Service's website warning about more flooding around Tampa Bay and parts of Orlando, Biden has urged Congress to approve additional emergency disaster funding for the state. He also announced $612m in funding for state energy projects to make the power grid more resilient.

Joe Biden recalls losing his home to lightning strike

Joe Biden stated in a news conference during his visit that he knew "from experience how devasting it is to lose your home".

"Several years ago, my home was struck by lightning. It did not all burn down, but we were out of the home for seven months while it was being repaired."

It was not the house itself that concerned Biden most, he shared, but the stuff that he cherished, such as "my daughter's drawings... all the family photographs, all the albums, all the things that really matter."

"The fact is that when you lose your wedding ring, the old photos, your children's and family's keepsakes, things that can't be replaced... sometimes, in my own experience, that's the part that hurts the most," he added.

Internet trolls Joe Biden for being 'out of touch'

Netizens reacting to Joe Biden's statement on the social media platform X slammed him for comparing the loss of his home to the loss of hundreds of people whose properties were destroyed by the storm.

"Omg. He is done for. So out of touch with the American people," wrote a user.

"There’s nothing more comforting to middle & lower class families who’ve lost everything & whose lives have been destroyed than to hear how much a rich, career politician understands their struggles," sarcastically shared another.

"Biden’s comparing a lightning strike to losing homes in a hurricane? The man’s brain is fried," noted a third.

"Wow this guy has had it all happen to him, it’s amazing he’s still here," mocked a fourth.

"He always manages to make it all about him and how he had something similar happening and how he knows how they feel. He's awful," expressed a fifth.

"Major MAJOR eye-rolling. 🙄" quipped yet another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.