The former president visited the Ohio village nearly three weeks after a train derailment and toxic chemical release that has raised questions about railroad regulation.
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Former President Donald Trump, seeking another term in the White House, visited the village dealing with the aftermath of a train derailment and toxic chemical spill, using the chance to take shots at President Joe Biden’s administration.
“They were intending to do absolutely nothing for you,” Trump — flanked by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and other local Republicans inside a fire station — said of the administration.
In his brief speech, Trump bragged of having a strong working relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as president, noting that the agency initially had not planned to assist relief efforts in the village. Trump claimed, without evidence, that the Biden administration began directing more resources after he announced last week that he would be visiting East Palestine.
“They changed their tune,” Trump said. “It was an amazing phenomenon.”
Trump’s visit comes as the political blame for both the crisis and response cascades toward both parties. Residents here remain worried about air and water safety, long-term health and environmental effects, and the compounded impact those fears will have on local businesses. The former president on Wednesday donated several thousand gallons of cleaning supplies and bottled water.
Republicans have seized on the derailment to hammer Biden and his administration. A number of Republicans — including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential contender for 2024 — have criticized Biden for not visiting the village, saying his priorities were out of order because he chose to visit Ukraine instead.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also become a focus of the partisan attacks, with at least one Republican senator calling for his resignation. Buttigieg has also not visited East Palestine since the derailment, although he is expected to be here Thursday.
Democrats have rapped the GOP, meanwhile, for lax regulation of the freight railroad industry, including the Trump administration’s 2017 suspension of a requirement that trains carrying flammable liquids be outfitted with faster brakes.
“Congressional Republicans and former Trump Administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Wednesday.
East Palestine, with a population of about 4,700, is tucked inside the tri-county Mahoning Valley region in eastern Ohio that was integral to Trump’s two general election victories in the state. The village is in reliably Republican Columbiana County but is served by the Youngstown media market in neighboring Mahoning County, which along with Trumbull County to the north had been solidly Democratic for more than 40 years until Trump came along. No GOP presidential candidate had won either since then-President Richard Nixon in 1972. Trump carried Trumbull in 2016 and came close in Mahoning before winning both c
Area residents expressed hope Wednesday that Trump’s visit would call attention to a post-industrial region that has weathered steel and automotive industry job losses dating to the 1970s.
Joy Mascher, owner of Flowers Straight from the Heart on downtown’s North Market Street, said the store struggled through delayed shipments and depressed Valentine’s Day sales in the aftermath of the derailment.
“I don’t think enough has been addressed by the railroad, by the state or the federal government,” she said Wednesday. “If this would have happened somewhere else, things would have gone a lot different, I feel.”
“I mean, at least he’s bringing attention,” Mascher added, referring to Trump’s visit. “I haven’t heard anything from Biden.”
Storefronts and signage along the main downtown corridor offered “EP Strong” and “East Palestine Lives Matter” messages. Gorby’s, a convenience store, spelled out “Welcome Trump” beneath its sign advertising beer, wine and cigarettes. Todd Gerhart, a one-time Ohioan who now lives in South Carolina, drove to East Palestine this week to sell his “ultra MAGA” honey in bottles crafted in Trump’s likeness. Gerhart said all profits will go toward local relief efforts.
“I am happy that a politician who has been a president cares about the people so much that he is making an effort to show up,” said Carolyn Thomas, a Trump supporter from nearby East Liverpool wearing a “Let’s Go Brandon” shirt as she hung out near Gerhart’s sidewalk display. “it shouldn’t even be a Republican or Democratic thing. It’s an American thing.”
Another downtown property owner, Don Elzer, said he had offered reduced-rate space in a vacant yoga studio to the EPA for a short-term local headquarters.
“I had a conversation this morning with some people,” said Elzer, a conservative who was excited for Trump’s visit. “Three weeks ago, if I had predicted what’s going on here, could you ever have imagined this happening in our town of 5,000 people? And everyone said absolutely not.”