Ex-President will visit toxic train derailment site amid fury over Biden administration’s lack of response
- Donald Trump is visiting the site of the train derailment in Ohio on Wednesday
- Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg confirmed that he will visit East Palestine but offered no timeframe and acknowledged that ‘I could have spoken out sooner’
- Biden made calls from Poland to leaders in Ohio and Pennsylvania on Tuesday
Donald Trump is visiting East Palestine, a small Ohio community of 4,700, upended by a toxic train derailment on Wednesday – 19 days after the crash, but still before President Joe Biden or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Republicans are reeling that Biden has not visited Ohio for himself, or at least deployed Buttigieg there to survey the damage and speak with local leaders about how the administration can best assist.
Buttigieg, however, assures that he will visit the derailment site – next to the border with Pennsylvania and about 35 minutes from Pittsburgh – claiming he did not want to preemptively visit just for the sake of a photo-op, which he suggested Trump is doing.
On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed and released large amounts of toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground, forcing evacuations as residents feared for their health. Some complained of headaches and other symptoms.
Meanwhile…
Reporter: What do you have to say to the folks in Ohio, East Palestine who are suffering right now?
Mayor Pete: Right now, I'm taking some personal time
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡pic.twitter.com/pYjsbrXSDv
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) February 22, 2023
