Consoler-in-chief is a familiar role for President Joe Biden, who has long been known for his ability to connect with grieving Americans due to his own personal tragedies.
On Thursday, Biden served in that role again as he visited the aftermath of the Surfside building collapse in Florida.
“I want to compliment FEMA and, I might add, all those folks risking their lives to save lives, but also holding out hope that those will be found,” Biden said during an address Thursday afternoon, speaking from a St. Regis Hotel near the site of the condo collapse. “Hope springs eternal.”
The collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium killed at least 18 people and left 145 missing. Hundreds of first responders and search-and-rescue personnel have been painstakingly searching the pancaked rubble for potential signs of life. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the collapse.
The president and his wife, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, both spent time individually with relatives of victims and those who are still missing, holding individual conversations in hushed tones with clasped hands and hugs.
Biden apologized at the start of his remarks for keeping those assembled waiting, saying he thought it was “important to speak with every single person” who wanted to meet with him.
“They had basic, heart-wrenching questions,” Biden said of meeting with the families. “Will they be able to recover the body of my son or daughter, my husband, my cousin, mom and dad? How can I have closure without being able to bury them? If I don’t get the body, what do I do?”
“Jill and I want them to know that we are with them, their country is with them,” Biden continued. “Our message today is that we are here for you, as one nation.”
Addressing some of the families touched by the tragedy, President Joe Biden spoke in deeply personal terms as he offered his prayers and support in the private meeting.
“I just wish there was something I could do to ease the pain,” he said in a video posted on Instagram by Jacqueline Patoka, a woman who was close to a couple and their daughter who are still missing.
In a quiet voice freighted with emotion, Biden on Thursday described his own despair at having to wait to find out about how family fared after a crisis like the one experienced in Surfside. He spoke of wanting to switch places with a lost or missing loved one and lamented that “the waiting, the waiting, is unbearable.”
“The people you may have lost — they’re gonna be with you your whole life,” he told the families. “A part of your soul, a part of who you are.”
Biden told the families that it can be “harder to grieve in public than it is in private, so I know there’s an extra burden on you all.”
“But I promise you: I still believe in prayer,” he said. “You’re in my prayers.”
The president, whose remarks were translated into Spanish, urged the families to “never give up hope,” even as the search and rescue operation paused early due to structural concerns with the remaining portion of the building.
Attendees could be seen with tears in their eyes as Biden closed out his remarks, and he and wife, Jill, spent the next few hours visiting privately with the families.
Few public figures connect as powerfully on grief as Biden, who lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car collision and later an adult son to brain cancer. In the first months of his term, he has drawn on that empathy to console those who have lost loved ones, including the more than 600,000 who have died in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden recounted the car crash briefly during his remarks, and choked up when he said he knows first-hand how hard it is to have to wait and see if your loved ones survived.
Biden also mentioned his late wife and daughter in his meeting with first responders and law enforcement officials earlier Thursday, thanking them for their sacrifices and hard work: “What you’re doing here is incredible.”
“I just wanted to come down and say thanks,” Biden said, adding: “I’ve worked with you my entire career.”
Biden wanted to convey that “we understand” what the assembled rescuers are going through.
“What you’re doing now is just hard as hell, even psychologically,” Biden said.
“I want to say thank you,” Biden said. “As I said, I promise you we know. We know. What you’re doing here is incredible. Having to deal with the uncertainty of worrying about the families.
“What you’re doing now is just hard as hell, to deal with, even psychologically. I just wanted to say thank you, thank you thank you, thank you.”
Upon touching down in the Sunshine State, the president was briefed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava on the condition of the rescue site, where work was paused Thursday morning due to fears that the rest of the building could collapse.
The president said he believed the federal government has “the power to pick up 100% of the cost” of the search and cleanup and urged the local officials to turn to Washington for assistance.
“You all know it, because a lot of you have been through it as well,” Biden said. “There’s gonna be a lot of pain and anxiety and suffering and even the need for psychological help in the days and months that follow.”
“And so, we’re not going anywhere,” Biden continued, urging those at the briefing to “tell me what you need” to get through the next several months.
Officials told Biden that FEMA should have about 500 officials on the ground in Florida today.
DeSantis, a critic of Biden’s and a possible 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, put partisan politics aside to praise the president for his response to the Surfside incident.
“You recognized the severity of this tragedy from day one and you’ve been very supportive,” DeSantis said, adding: “The cooperation has been great – the local, both the municipal and the county, have been fantastic, and you guys have not only been supportive at the federal level, but we’ve had no bureaucracy.”
“We do appreciate the collaboration from local, state, and federal,” DeSantis added.
As Biden pledged federal help, he touched DeSantis’ hand to underscore the point.
