Over a year after a disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which led to devastating amounts of poisonous Vinyl Chloride being released into the air and water, President Joe Biden finally decided to visit the town.
President Biden was greeted with an overwhelmingly negative reception from the East Palestine residents, many of whom felt that they were ignored by Biden while they suffered.
“Out here in East Palestine, this is Joe Biden finally showing up, more than a year later, and that’s the message, real simple, too little too late,” said Ben Bergquam, while interviewing East Palestine protestors.
Protestors can be seen holding signs reading “impeach Biden” and “too little, too late,” while a young girl holds a sign that reads “Don’t sniff me.”
As Biden drove into the city, he was greeted by protestors who waited in the snow to decry the president.
“F**k Joe Biden” chanted protestors, as Biden’s limousine drove in.
During Biden’s visit, he praised the resilience of the residents, vowed to hold Norfolk Southern Railway responsible for the derailment, and touted his response to the situation.
“My administration was on the ground within hours, working closely with the governor, the mayor, the senators, the house members, community leaders to make sure you have everything you need,” said Biden.
Despite Biden’s claims, he has continually ignored calls for a Federal disaster declaration.
A disaster declaration would allow Ohio to use federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to perform environmental testing to determine the full extent and result of the disaster.
Prior to Biden’s visit, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) spoke out against the president’s weak response to the tragedy.
“What they need is a government that is actually paying attention to them and trying to help them solve the problems that were caused by this terrible explosion. So we need actual action, not just press conferences from politicians,” said Sen. Vance.
The train derailment was reportedly caused by poorly maintained track, which caused multiple cars, some of which contained Vinyl Chloride, to be damaged and begin leaking.
During the leak, officials decided to burn the Vinyl Chloride to prevent a further explosion.
During the burn, people as many as ten miles away reported that pets were becoming sick and dying overnight.
According to reports, many residents became sick from the pollution. While investigating the situation, seven Center for Disease Control (CDC) employees who visited the area got sick shortly following the incident.
As Thos. Sowell has pointed out, “It is hard to imagine a more stupid of more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of ppl who pay no price for being wrong.” If we’re to have decent governance, we can’t allow our “representatives” to be any better off than their poorest constituent. Otherwise, their wealth effectively exempts them from the crap they dish out to the public–none of THEM reside in East Palestine, Ohio.