Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg maintains that a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, by President Joe Biden would be “disruptive,” even as former Obama communications chief Jennifer Palmieri praised former President Donald Trump for making the trip.
Buttigieg spoke about his recent trip to the Ohio train derailment site in a Tuesday interview with CNN and was asked if Biden should visit the community and meet with the families there.
“Well, what I know is he’s been very concerned throughout this process about what the people of East Palestine are going through,” Buttigieg said. “I think also a visit at that level can sometimes have a lot of disruptive effects. So it would need to be thought of carefully, but I’m certainly glad that I went.”
The secretary traveled to the area last week and toured the site of the 149-car Norfolk Southern train derailment. He has caught flak for visiting three weeks after the accident, which occurred just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 3.
The train was carrying 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride, a toxic chemical that grows especially volatile at high temperatures, according to NPR. Responders evacuated residents and performed a "release and burn" of five tank cars' worth of the chemical to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.
According to NPR, residents have expressed deep concern and skepticism about the safety of East Palestine’s air and water since the evacuation order was lifted on Feb. 8. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported that approximately 3,500 fish in nearby waterways had died after the derailment and some residents say they have developed rashes and experienced headaches since the controlled burn.
Palmieri praised former President Donald Trump for visiting the struggling Ohio community and said Biden “must go” to the site.
“Trump has struck a chord with this, though, I have to say, when he went to East Palestine last week,” Palmieri told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday. “He was better than we had seen in other more recent times where all he does is complain about himself. In East Palestine, he was advocating on behalf of the people that were there, aggrieved on their behalf, not aggrieved on his own behalf.”
“But for the administration, you’ve got to go,” she continued. “Biden should show up at some point as well. There’s a responsibility and the rest of us want to see that the administration is doing everything they can.”
The president has faced a growing chorus of criticism over his failure to visit East Palestine, with Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., saying that the town should change its name to Kyiv so the Biden administration makes it a priority.
"Sadly, I think my advice for the people of East Palestine is to change your name to Kyiv, and then the president might actually pay attention," Burlison said.
Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, last week to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's war effort and announced he would provide an additional $500 million in military aid to Ukraine.
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