Trump to visit 'great people who need help' in East Palestine, Ohio
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the site of a train derailment in Ohio as the Biden administration faces criticism for its response to the incident, which resulted in the leakage of toxic chemicals into the air and water.
In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed his intention to visit East Palestine on Wednesday, describing the residents of the eastern Ohio village as “great people who need help, NOW!” In a subsequent post, Trump credited his plans to visit East Palestine with causing the Biden administration to “move” after Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that the president had no immediate plans to visit the community.
“Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that I’m going, he announced a team will go. Hopefully he will also be there,” Trump wrote. “The people of East Palestine need help. I’ll see you on Wednesday!”
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Trump’s visit to East Palestine comes nearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the village on Feb. 3. A controlled burning of the poisonous chemicals occurred three days later, with Norfolk Southern citing concerns about an explosion as the reason for carrying out a controlled burn of the chemicals.
Local officials asked those in the immediate vicinity of the accident to evacuate their homes. Two days after the controlled burn, they received the green light to return home.
State and local officials assured residents of East Palestine that the air and water were safe from pollution, however, the state acknowledged that the train derailment and the subsequent chemical burn did have an impact on the environment. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated that 3,500 fish in the 7.5 miles of waterways located in close proximity to the accident site died as a result of contaminated water.
Several first responders and residents who did not evacuate experienced diarrhea, bad coughs, headaches and a sore throat in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Two residents of East Palestine, a young couple who bought a house there in May, told Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson they had coughed up blood and experienced headaches several days after the train derailment and the burning of toxic chemicals.
Nathan and Kelly Izotic appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Tuesday, with Mrs. Izotic asserting that “the headaches are horrible.”
“When I’m about three to four miles outside of town, they start and as long as I’m within a few miles of the crash site, I’ve got headaches.” Mrs. Izotic added, characterizing her symptoms as “really bad headaches” and migraines.
A Fox News cameraman traveled to East Palestine to set up a camera in the couple’s home for the interview on Tuesday. Mr. Izotic said the cameraman agreed that a “sweet odor” permeated the village that “smells terrible.”
Trump’s visit to East Palestine comes as President Joe Biden has traveled to eastern Europe on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war. The president’s critics point to his trip to Europe as an example of mismatched priorities, with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway describing it as “the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesn’t care about us” in an appearance on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” Monday.
“I found that out this morning in one of the briefings that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us, and I’m furious,” Conaway added.
For its part, the Biden administration is defending its response to the East Palestine train derailment.
In a fact sheet published Friday, the White House stated that the Environmental Protection Agency is “continuously monitoring air quality using state-of-art equipment” and “assisted with the indoor air monitoring of 500 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents.”
According to the White House, “No detections of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were identified above levels of concern.”
The Biden administration added that the “EPA is assisting state and local agencies to test surface and groundwater to ensure drinking water is safe.”
In a statement released Tuesday, The EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to “conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.”
The EPA's order will require the train company to “identify and clean up contaminated water sources, reimburse [the] EPA for cleaning services to be offered to residents and businesses to provide an additional layer of assurance, which will be conducted by EPA staff and contractors, attend and participate in public meetings at [the] EPA’s request and post information online and pay for [the] EPA’s costs for work performed under this order.”
“The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Regan vowed that “Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
