running up a filibuster left and right. but the delta variant is remaining challenging. kaitlan, just to add to that point, remember that the core argument that joe biden made for his candidacy was effectively in, in a word, competence. i m a guy who s been in politics for a really long time. i know how this stuff works. i ve seen domestic problems. when you have afghanistan, the economy, covid-19, the border, it starts to erode out that sense that this guy is the competent guy. now, of course, it s not black and white. joe biden is not solely responsible for covid-19 in this country. but we know that presidents get more blame than they should and more credit than they should. he s in the blame cycle right now. and i think it s based on that belief that we thought we
stunned the entire room. welcome to the lead. i m kaitlan collins in for jake tapper. and we begin this hour in louisiana where president biden is expected to speak any moment after touring communities ravaged by hurricane ida and meeting with state and local leaders. those hardest hit towns including laplace where many neighborhoods are still swamped with water. more than 800,000 hopes and businesses across the state still have no power five days after the storm. as victims deal with their destroyed homes, temperatures continue to swelter. right now in baton rouge, for example, the heat index is 105 degrees. we re covering the aftermath of ida all over the country. miguel marquez in new jersey, ed lavandera in louisiana, and arlette saenz is live at the white house. arlette, i want to start with you. what has been president biden s message while he s been on the ground today for several hours?
still going without basic necessities right now as they are just trying to get the power turned back on for thousands of people. of course, this is compounded all by the fact that it is incredibly hot right now in louisiana. we ve seen the heat index get up to 105 in some points. president biden was calling out insurance companies, saying that they need to step up to the plate and not cover people just because they have voluntarily, in his words, left their homes because of this storm. thanks for joining us today. i m kaitlan collins in for jake tapper here on the lead. our coverage continues right now though with wolf blitzer in the situation room. happening now, breaking news. president biden is getting an up-close look at the hurricane damage in louisiana and says he knows people are so, so frustrated. many are pleading for help as they struggle with the lack of power and fuel during sweltering heat. also today, suffering in
about the administration s efforts in discussions with power companies as well as cell phone companies and gas and trying to release more gas to the area as those shortages are affecting so many people in the area. but in a short while we are expecting the president to speak more towards that support that the government is trying to offer. kaitlan? ork, arlette, we ll get back to you when president biden is expected to speak. for now i want to bring in cnn s ed lavandera who is in laplace, louisiana. ed, we know that hundreds of thousands of people there are still without power, without food, without gas. are the conditions on the ground improving at all? are people still not able to get access to these basic necessities? i think right now many residents are still kind of scrambling day to day to get what they need as those storm supplies that many people stocked up on before the storm are quickly running out. you see food and water distribution sites being kind of brought up in ma
had the tables been turned and president trump won the election, and those were tens of thousands of black lives matter antifa protesters, i might ve been a little concerned. reporter: johnson s spokeswoman says he condemns the violence that day but respects those who protested legally. he s a person who has morphed into the guy who s going to say the racist part out loud. we re talking real rc bunker on top of the conspiracy theories. reporter: with candidates like mandela barnes already using johnson s words against him. he speaks his truth, and unfortunately he s delusional. reporter: ron johnson s office says he has plenty of time to decide if he is going to run for a third term. that indecision has not stopped former president donald trump from already endorsing johnson for re-election months ago. kaitlan? sara murray, those texts were something else. that was some fascinating reporting from wisconsin.