Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee called out President Biden's relative absence from the stage, as he vacations in St. Croix, U.S.V.I. while Americans battled an Arctic bomb cyclone and thousands of flight cancelations on the mainland.
Huckabee told "Hannity" that Biden's lack of concern for his job and for the American people was again evident when he apparently chose to have the omnibus government funding and spending bill flown to the Caribbean instead of returning to Washington to sign it.
"Basically what it says is Joe Biden doesn't give a rip what's happening to the American public," he said. "I mean, he could have at least filled up Air Force One with a bunch of people from Buffalo, New York, and taken them down to the U.S. Virgin Islands for some time in the sun. That would have been nice."
In Western New York, Democratic Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Thursday there have been 39 storm-related deaths in his jurisdiction – which includes Buffalo – thus far. 31 of the 39 occurred in the city, Poloncarz said, according to the Buffalo News.
SC LAWMAKER BLASTS BIDEN, BUTTIGIEG AFTER KIDS STRANDED IN BALTIMORE AMID AIRLINE CHAOS
On "Hannity," Huckabee said the omnibus bill should have never been passed, and that many Republicans who "folded" are to blame for it as well.
"[They] went with it all because they said it was an emergency … it's such an emergency that Biden took off and let that bill sit there on his desk."
Huckabee said Biden's vocal support for countering climate change also doesn't mesh with the fact a government jet had to be dispatched to fly a piece of legislation thousands of miles from Washington so that he could sign it.
"There's no telling how much carbon was pumped into the atmosphere just to get that piece of paper down there for Joe Biden to sign it," he said.
Huckabee said the bill itself is greatly flawed, but still has a few items in it that were worthwhile.
ELAINE CHAO WARNS OF MORE SCRUTINY TOWARD AIRLINES AFTER ‘TOTAL NIGHTMARE’ OVER CHRISTMAS
He compared it to a pot of stew, where a majority of the ingredients were fresh and wholesome, but that there was a small amount of rat poison added.
"The question is, do we really want to eat it? And I'd say I don't think so. So why are we pushing this when there's so much rat poison in this $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that had to be flown down?" he continued, riffing that the beleaguered Southwest Airlines should have pinch-hit for the government in flying the spending package down to Biden.
"Therefore, it probably would have never made it, and maybe we could have avoided this ridiculous bill."
Huckabee also added his voice to Republicans supportive of uniting around House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for the Speakership in the New Year.
McCarthy still appears short a slim number of votes due to fervent opposition from a handful of conservative lawmakers.
"Yes. Let [McCarthy] be speaker. He'll do fine. He'll do great," Huckabee said.
"Most importantly, I think we've got some good people chairing those committees who will launch the investigations that absolutely have to happen and quit playing softball with the Democrats…"
