‘Sorry, I Lost My Train Of Thought’: Buttigieg Makes Series Of Errors In Timid, Unprepared East Palestine Appearance

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Finally, I visited the beleaguered city of East Palestine, Ohio, and his appearance was — to put it mildly — a bit underwhelming and reeked of amateurishness.

First, his press secretary didn’t want to be on camera and she dodged reporters. Second, he made a huge verbal error during his official conference. If he was hoping to display confidence and trust and engender goodwill amongst a town wondering where on Earth the Biden administration has been since the train derailment-turned-toxic inferno disrupted their way of life, he assuredly missed the mark.

His moment of forgetfulness when he needed to find his words, is what is most likely to make this a clip that will be repeated over and over. This is normal. It happens to all of us. Buttigieg, the transportation secretary on ground, responds to railroad accidents.

He said, “Sorry, I lost my train of thought,” before he regained his footing.

Ooops…That’s a huge PR fail! This is a great example of the importance media training prior to going on air.

“Sorry, I lost my train of thought.” pic.twitter.com/mDiPtgt8wI

— Jeremy Knauff (@jeremyknauff) February 23, 2023

This was perhaps the most toxic sentence you could ever use on potentially toxic ground. But it wasn’t his only mistake.

Upon arriving, Buttigieg was ridiculed for his outfit choice and his decision to wear dress shoes — rather than boots — to the town:

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visits the Norfolk Southern derailment site, East Palestine, Ohio.https://t.co/Jaz4jHXmvf”>pic.twitter.com/Jaz4jHXmvf

— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 23, 2023

Others might argue that this is a poor shot, but it’s not indicative of his actual response. Optics are important, however, and it’s a far cry from former President Donald J. Trump walking through the crowd looking in command the day before. It’s the worst look possible for the Biden administration.

Kerry Arndt, Buttigieg’s press assistant, was there to provide cover as her boss evaded reporters at dawn. Arndt, who is paid U.S. taxpayers for appearing on camera and speaking to the media, refused any questions from one reporter, even if it was taped.

Is it possible for a press secretary to be afraid of speaking on camera? It’s something like “a kite that is afraid of heights.”

Buttigieg did wind up giving a press conference — where he made that aforementioned verbal blunder about trains —  but he didn’t exactly give East Palestine an empathetic impression. He admitted to making mistakes in his decision-making when he was asked why he took so long to arrive.

Why did he not act differently? He explained that it is not how he was programmed to work.

“What I tried to do was balance two things: my desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground, which is how I’m generally wired to act, and my desire to follow the norm of transportation secretaries,” He explained.

“Was it a mistake not to come here sooner?”

BUTTIGIEG: “What I tried to do was balance two things: my desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground, which is how I’m generally wired to act, and my desire to follow the norm.” 🤔 pic.twitter.com/KA0NPi72Oy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 23, 2023

He also mispronounced the name of the town before correcting himself in an effort to win political points.

Pete Buttigieg has a mispronunciation “East Palestine” After his visit to Ohio yesterday, he made a subtle challenge to Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/msohMstJXw

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 23, 2023

Perhaps Buttigieg might not have looked so late and unprepared if this trip had been made on February 5, instead of February 23.

He didn’t make time to promote equity and other woke causes, but he did. Instead, he minimized the situation, blamed the former administration and even stated to a reporter that it was his fault. “taking personal time” And couldn’t talk about the crisis.

Pete Buttigieg, the rudest, condescending brat in the world, is the smuggest. Pete, you are not a star, but you work for us.

Buttigieg refuses talk to reporter “I’m taking some personal time right now.”pic.twitter.com/ePVCLMiu4I

— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) February 22, 2023

He might have spent a little more time on media preparation than just going out for dinner with Chasten. Instead of helping the American people, this trip ended almost a month worth of neglect, disregard and annoyance by the Biden administration toward middle America.

The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of The Daily Wire.

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