Biden meets Republican mayor Trent Conway to oversee the federal cleanup in East Palestine, Ohio.
One year ago, a freight train derailed in East Palestine, a small town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. It became a part of America's dividing issues. Oh, the Chinese Balloon saga happened around this time and the Republicans were exploiting this incident before the train derailment.
Republicans exploited this tragedy for political gains. There were numerous train derailments in the United States from Feb. 2023 to the most recent in Jan. 2024. The Republicans seem to magically ignore these events. This one was a heavy price in health and water safety.
I am reminded that Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican and former friend to President Joe Biden when they were senators blew off his attempts to make a visit. DeWine was the one who allowed the burn off and toxic waste to enter the Ohio River watershed. DeWine waited three weeks before he could ask for federal assistance.
The U.S. government immediately gets involved whenever a transportation vehicles like buses, trains, airplanes and cruise ships get into accidents.
The U.S. president never visited any train derailments until now.
I want the folks of East Palestine, Ohio to know that we’re here until the job is done. We'll continue to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make sure they make your community whole – now and in the future. This derailment won’t define you. Your compassion and resilience will. pic.twitter.com/ptoAm6YO5x
But since this is Republicans exploiting tragedy for gains, Donald J. Trump arrived and did a campaign stop interrupting cleanup. The mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, Trent Conway, a Republican welcomed him with open arms and even took a hat and McDonald's from the former president.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, EPA advisor Michael Regan, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-OH), Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and former Republican lawmaker Bill Johnson visited the site.
Norfolk Southern is still under federal investigation for this.
The federal government is still there.
The junk food media has moved on from East Palestine. They came back knowing the president decided to come to town. One year later, Biden comes to town to check on the long term cleanup.
Biden was expected to face MAGA.
WATCH: East Palestine, OH residents greet Joe Biden with thunderous "Let's Go Brandon!" chants pic.twitter.com/XOBF4Foh5j
East Palestine, Ohio residents line streets with Trump flags and anti-Biden signs to greet Joe Biden as he shamelessly visits the town OVER A YEAR after being devastated by toxic chemical explosion:
‘We’re Never Going to Get Help’: East Palestine Resident Reacts to Biden’s Speech
An East Palestine resident tells @BenBergquam that she doesn’t believe East Palestine, Ohio is ever going to receive help based on the back slapping and glad handing speeches that Biden and EPA… pic.twitter.com/N8O5PYFe9V
Biden faced intense scrutiny for not going to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border town in the immediate aftermath of the derailment. Upon his arrival in East Palestine, Biden was met with some signs that read, "Go home, sleepy Joe" and others requesting he "declare the emergency," according to reporters traveling with the president.
Eastern Ohio has trended more Republican.
Mohaning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties became Republicans strongholds.
"It doesn’t matter if you're Democrat or Republican or independent, what matters is we're all Americans, everyone, everyone," Biden said. "We look out for one another. We leave no one behind and we come back stronger than before. That's what you're doing here."
Biden was briefed by officials and gave remarks on the need to hold Norfolk Southern, the railroad operating the freight train, accountable for the Feb. 3, 2023, spill.
"While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable," Biden said. "Let me say it again: an act of greed that was 100% preventable."
Trump passing out hats inside a McDonald's in East Palestine. In 2023, Trump and J.D. Vance exploited the train derailment for political gains.
Biden praised the town for its "herculean efforts" in the wake of the tragedy and pledged to continue to support residents.
"I want them to understand that we're not going home, no matter what, until this job is done and it's not done yet," he said. "There's a lot more to do. The vast majority's been done but we're going to stay until the very end until every need is met."
Conaway, who has endorsed Trump in the 2024 race, invited Biden to East Palestine this month. Conaway told the Associated Press he did so, despite political differences, for the benefit of the community.
"This is a trip that he has been wanting to make but wanted to make sure that it was the right time to do," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.
Biden and the White House said after the spill he would visit East Palestine at some point but nothing was scheduled in 2023. Conaway heavily criticized Biden for visiting Ukraine last winter instead of East Palestine, calling it a "slap in the face."
Biden on Friday emphasized that federal responders were on the ground within hours of the toxic spill, and many of them remain there today. He also called on Congress to enact reform to bipartisan rail safety legislation.
There were no injuries reported from the derailment but 11 of the cars were transporting hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, ethyl acrylate and isobutylene, some of which are considered to be toxic and possibly carcinogenic.
A slap in the face was a president allowing a pandemic to spread. A slap in the face was a president allowing his supporters wreck havoc on the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the congressional duties of certifying the president and vice president.
In 2017, Trump repealed a Barack Obama era regulation that monitored freight trains that exceed 80 mph with hazardous materials. Trump thought it was bothersome. The ECP brakes are expensive and rail companies opposed it. Norfolk Southern's pressing of the federal government against a rule that, in most cases, would require more than one person operating a freight train.
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