‘When They Care About The People Is When They’re On TV’: East Palestine Residents Are Not Thrilled Pete Buttigieg Is In Town

Ben ZeisloftFebruary 23, 2023

Residents of East Palestine in Ohio were suspicious of any visit from Transport Secretary Pete ButtigiegThis comes almost three weeks after the train derailment Chemical fallout has since caused severe damage to residents in the small rust belt community.

All residents within one mile radius of the February 3 train derailment were evacuated by local and state authorities. started To reduce the chance of an explosion, a controlled burning of industrial chemicals was done on the vehicle. This could have caused shrapnel to be released into the small community. Five train cars emitted vinyl chloride, a known human cancergen, in massive plumes visible across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Buttigieg Arrived East Palestine, early morning, February 23, 2003 after legislators from both major political parties So called for him to focus more attention on the incident. Residents said during Interviews Fox News reported that Biden Administration officials were only forced to confront their problems by national media attention following the train accident.

“They always say they care about the forgotten and ‘the little guy.’ They don’t care,” One resident said. “When they care about the people is when they’re on TV. That’s when they care about us,” Another. “When it comes to real solutions and real problems, they’re nowhere to be found.” An unnamed third person told the outlet that Buttigieg’s arrival was a surprise “way too late.”

Although President Joe Biden hasn’t yet visited East Palestine, he made a clandestine visit to Ukraine Monday to show solidarity with the country’s war effort against Russia. Trent Conaway, East Palestine’s mayor, described the mission to Eastern Europe in a “very important” way. “slap in the face” During an Interview Fox News. “He doesn’t care about us,” He concluded.

Buttigieg will visit one day after Donald Trump. Arrived In the town, he distributed several pallets and thousands of gallon of cleaning products and bought McDonald’s food for first responders. He is running for a second term as commander-in-chief in the White House.

Buttigieg faced backlash after he failed to address the train accident publicly for more than a week. He finally issued a public statement. Comment On February 13, he posted a social media message addressing the issue, which stated that he was “concerned about the impacts” Local families were affected by the disruption “in the ten days since their lives were upended through no fault of their own.”

Buttigieg stressed the importance of regulators and lawmakers examining trains carrying hazardous materials in transit during an inspection. Press conference On Thursday, in East Palestine Buttigieg answered the question, “I should have visited this town sooner,” and said that he was trying to balance his. “desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground” His “desire to follow the norm” Allow the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the incident. “I think the most important thing is, first of all, making sure that the residents here have what they need,” He continued, “and making sure we do something for the future.”