East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway has openly criticized President Joe Biden for his delayed response to the catastrophic train derailment that struck the town a year ago.
Conaway’s scathing remarks come as the White House announces Biden’s intended visit to East Palestine in February, a visit the mayor suggests should be rescheduled for February 2025, “when he’s on his book tour.”
On February 3, 2023, East Palestine faced a nightmare when a Norfolk Southern train derailed, releasing a massive toxic cloud over the small town. Among the derailed cars, several contained vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, leading to a decision to burn the chemicals, resulting in an enormous explosion and a lingering toxic plume.
The aftermath saw a swift visit from former President Donald Trump, which was met with widespread approval from the local community. Trump delivered water, goods, and food to East Palestine residents while Biden was in Ukraine, giving Zelensky more military aid.
In contrast, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s later visit was criticized as a belated effort by the Biden regime to address the crisis.
Mayor Conaway, in recent statements to Fox News, expressed his frustration with Biden’s handling of the situation, suggesting that the president’s visit now, almost a year later, would be inopportune and ineffective.
His suggestion that February 2025 would be a better time for the visit has been seen as a direct jab at Biden’s inaction.
“I wrote a letter to him, him about a month ago saying that I think he needed to come. And I was gracious in the letter. I think he needs to see what’s going on here,” Conaway said.
“Do you still stand by that comment about the book tour?” asked Fox Business reporter Kelly Saberi.
“I 100% stand by the comment about the book tour. I think that’s the best time for Joe Biden to come. I think the best time for him to come would have been whenever this happened,” Conaway said.
WATCH:
Badass East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway SAVAGES Joe Biden, REFUSES Biden’s PR visit to East Palestine ONE YEAR after toxic explosion:
“The best time for Biden to visit would be February 2025 when he’s on his book tour.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 31, 2024
Conaway’s frustration is echoed by many who point to Biden’s numerous vacation days in the past year, questioning why a visit to East Palestine couldn’t have been arranged sooner. The White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded to these criticisms.
When White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned about whether Biden would demonstrate the safety of the local water by drinking it during his visit, she declined to engage in specifics, stating, “This is not about some sort of political stunt here…this is about this president being a president for everyone and showing up for this community.”
WATCH:
.@PhilipWegmann: “And then, next month, when the President is in East Palestine, will he drink the water there?”
KJP: “I mean, look, what I can tell you is the President’s focus has been to do everything that he can to support this community from day one. We get what’s going on… pic.twitter.com/CS4Gm1vTAz
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 31, 2024
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
