White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told The New York Times the president didn’t hear the question and that he wasn’t talking about Maui.

“He didn’t hear the question,” Dalton told the outlet. “He absolutely didn’t say ‘no comment’ in relation to Maui. And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to being in daily contact with senior staff, FEMA and state officials as he marshaled a whole-of-government response to the fires.”

[It’s possible; I suggested that might have been the case at the time. But it’s not a convincing explanation either. Why not just ask to have the question repeated? And the “no comment” is just the icing on the cake for the decision to vacation on Rehoboth Beach as the catastrophe and the aftermath unfolded without any more action taken. This belated spin won’t cut it. — Ed]