周二，乔·拜登总统继续他的“艾达”飓风破坏之旅，前往纽约和新泽西，亲眼目睹这场大规模风暴给东北部带来的破坏。
总统重申了他作为首席安慰者的角色，在参观新泽西州曼维尔的一个社区之前，他会见了当地领导人，听取了该地区的损失情况，然后前往纽约市皇后区查看那里的损失并发表了讲话。
总统在皇后区与参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)和该州其他当选官员一起说:“走在这些街区，会见家人和第一反应者，看看人们在这场破坏、痛苦和另一场毁灭性风暴后的表现，令人大开眼界。
在访问灾区期间，总统将他的信息集中在应对气候变化的必要性上，因为极端天气事件继续影响着美国——这为他的1万亿美元的基础设施法案提供了理由，该法案最近在两党的支持下在参议院获得通过，此外还有一项3.5万亿美元的社会支出法案，该法案构成了他的“重建得更好”议程。
“证据很清楚。气候变化对我们的生活和经济构成了生存威胁，威胁就在这里，”拜登周二下午在纽约表示。“情况不会好转。问题是-会变得更糟吗?我们可以阻止它变得更糟。”
“我们必须听取科学家、经济学家和国家安全专家的意见。他们都告诉我们这是红色代码。国家和世界处于危险之中。这不是夸张。这是事实。他们一直在警告我们，极端天气将在未来十年变得更加极端，我们现在正在实时体验它，”拜登补充道。
拜登说，在风暴的破坏中，还有一个“机会”来打开这个国家的眼睛，让人们注意科学家的紧急警告，并补充说，“我认为我们都已经看到——甚至气候怀疑论者也看到了——这真的很重要。”
周二早些时候，在与联邦应急管理局局长迪恩·克里斯威尔、新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲和其他来自各州的当选官员的简报会上，拜登也对气候变化信息进行了猛烈抨击。
“这是一个机会。我认为这个国家终于承认了这样一个事实，全球变暖是真实存在的，而且正在以令人难以置信的速度发展。我们必须做点什么，”他说。
在调查新泽西州曼维尔的损失时，拜登与地面上的居民交谈，提供了一些拥抱。房子曾经所在的院子被瓦砾覆盖——从木板、床垫到圣诞装饰品。
在周二的行程之前，总统周五前往路易斯安那州的墨西哥湾海岸，飓风“伊达”在那里登陆，他为目前正在国会审议的政策提案提出了类似的论点。
“就环境而言，情况正在发生巨大变化，”总统周五表示。“我们已经越过了某些门槛。我们不能把一条路、一条公路、一座桥或任何东西恢复到以前的样子。我的意思是，你必须回到现在的样子，回到现在需要的样子。”
白宫继续强调联邦政府对这场毁灭性风暴的反应，这场风暴已在8个州造成至少68人死亡。上周末，拜登批准了纽约州和新泽西州的紧急声明，为受灾地区的恢复工作提供联邦援助。
“这是一场历史性的风暴，致命的。不幸的是，27人丧生，4人仍然失踪，小企业和道路，在某些情况下还有学校。第一批救援人员表现得异常英勇，但这场风暴造成了重大损失。新泽西州州长菲尔·墨菲在一次采访中说:“我们会尽我们所能，但是我们非常需要联邦政府。”采访哥伦比亚广播公司周日新闻。
Biden calls for action on climate change while in New York, New Jersey touring damage from Ida
President Joe Biden on Tuesday continued his tour of damage caused by Hurricane Ida, traveling to New York and New Jersey to see first-hand the devastation the massive storm inflicted on the Northeast.
The president was reprising his role as consoler in chief, meeting with local leaders to get briefed on damage to the area before touring a neighborhood in Manville, New Jersey, and then heading to Queens in New York City to see the damage there and deliver remarks.
"Walking these neighborhoods, meeting the families and the first responders, seeing how folks are doing after this destruction and pain and another devastating storm, is an eye-opener," the president said in Queens, speaking alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other elected officials from the state.
During his visits to see the devastated areas, the president focused his message on the need to address climate change, as extreme weather events continue to impact the United States -- making the case for his $1 trillion infrastructure bill that recently passed the Senate with bipartisan support, in addition to a $3.5 trillion social spending bill that comprises his "Build Back Better" agenda as ways to do so.
"The evidence is clear. Climate change poses an existential threat to our lives, to our economy, and the threat is here," Biden said Tuesday afternoon in New York. "It's not going to get any better. The question -- can it get worse? We can stop it from getting worse."
"We got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. They all tell us this is code red. The nation and the world are in peril. And that's not hyperbole. That is a fact. They've been warning us the extreme weather would get more extreme over the decade, and we're living it in real time now," Biden added.
Biden said that amid the storm's destruction there was also an "opportunity" to open the country's eyes and get people to heed the urgent warnings from scientists, adding, "I think we've all seen --even the climate skeptics are seeing -- that this really does matter."
Earlier Tuesday, during a briefing with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and other elected officials from the states, Biden also hit hard on the climate change message.
"This is an opportunity. I think the country's finally acknowledged the fact that global warming is real, and it's moving at an incredible pace. And we've got to do something about it," he said.
While surveying the damage in Manville, New Jersey, Biden spoke with residents on the ground, offering some hugs. Yards where houses once stood were covered in debris -- from wooden planks and mattresses to Christmas decorations.
Tuesday's trip follows the president on Friday traveling to Louisiana's Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Ida made landfall and he made similar arguments for his policy proposals currently working their way through Congress.
"Things are changing so drastically in terms of the environment," the president said Friday. "We've already crossed certain thresholds. We can't build back a road, a highway, a bridge or anything to what it was before. I mean, you got to build back to what it is now, what’s needed now."
The White House has continued to highlight the federal response to the devastating storm that has claimed the lives of at least 68 people across eight states. Over the weekend, Biden approved emergency declarations for New York and New Jersey to provide federal aid to the recovery efforts in impacted areas.
"This was a historic storm, deadly. Tragically the loss of 27 lives, four still missing, small businesses, and roadways, and in some cases schools. First responders were extraordinarily heroic, but there is a significant loss associated with this storm. We'll do all that we can in the state, but we need the federal government in a big way," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in aninterviewwith CBS News on Sunday.
