NEW YORK — President Joe Biden called for a global, united response to climate change after surveying damage from Hurricane Ida in New Jersey and Queens on Tuesday, saying the United States and the rest of the world were “in peril.”
At a news briefing held after touring storm damage in East Elmhurst, Queens Tuesday afternoon, Biden — joined by lawmakers including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio — said he “wish[ed] every American could… talk to the people who’ve been devastated.”
“Climate change poses an existential threat to our lives, to our economy, and the threat is here. It’s not going to get any better. We can stop it from getting worse,” he said. “The nation and the world are in peril. That’s not hyperbole. That is a fact.”
“They’ve been warning us that extreme weather would get more extreme over the decade, and we’re living it in real time now,” he added. “Where we can look around [at] the wreckage, and the ruins, and the heartbreak, from so many communities.”
Biden's visit to Queens came hours after he toured homes damaged by flooding in New Jersey.
Marine One departed JFK Airport in Queens and touched down at Central Jersey Regional Airport in Hillsborough Township just before 11:40 a.m. A photo shows Biden walking on the tarmac with Gov. Phil Murphy.
Biden received a briefing from local leaders at the Somerset County Emergency Management Training Center in Hillsborough Township.
“I’m here to see firsthand what the damage is and find out directly from you all what is most needed,” Biden said at a press conference from the training center, warning that "every part of the country is getting hit by extreme weather."
"We have to make sure that we don't leave any community behind," the president said. "I think we're at one of those inflection points where we either act or we're going to be in real, real trouble, our kids are going to be in real trouble."
After the briefing, the president — accompanied by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker — greeted and spoke with residents of Manville in Somerset County whose homes were damaged by flooding.
In addition to meeting with residents — including a family whose house was destroyed by a fire that started shortly after the flooding began — Biden surveyed the homes that were affected.
“Literally over your head,” he said of the water marks he saw inside several homes. “That is pretty amazing.”
"The losses that we witnessed today are profound," Biden said.
The tour was not deterred by a small group of pro-Trump supporters who shouted at Biden as he walked by, calling him a “tyrant” and demanding his resignation.
Biden met with other state and local officials throughout the day as well. Among the officials traveling with him is FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, the former commissioner of the NYC Emergency Management Department.
The president was slated to return to Joint Base Andrews in the early evening from JFK Airport.
At least 50 people were killed in six Eastern states as record rainfall last week overwhelmed rivers and sewer systems. More than half of those deaths, 27, were recorded in New Jersey. In New York City, 13 people were killed, including 11 in Queens.
Biden's visit follows a Friday trip to Louisiana, where Hurricane Ida first made landfall, killing at least 13 people in the state and plunging New Orleans into darkness. Power is being slowly restored.
Biden has approved major disaster declarations, making federal aid available for people in six New Jersey counties and five New York counties affected by the devastating floods. Murphy said he would speak with Biden on Tuesday about adding other New Jersey counties to the disaster declaration.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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