President Joe Biden’s delayed visit to the town of East Palestine, Ohio one year after a train derailment that left the community in fear of the toxic chemical spill has sparked questions and criticism.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway scoffed at the idea of the Democrat commander-in-chief finally finding time on his schedule to personally show his face in the town.
He told Fox News, that in “my personal opinion the best time for him to come would be February of 2025 when he is on his book tour.”
“The President is always welcome to our town,” Conaway said, adding, “that being said, I don’t know what he would do here now.”
Biden to finally visit East Palestine train derailment site – a full year later https://t.co/n0EPwvcKhM via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 31, 2024
Fox Business reporter Kelly Saberi caught up with the mayor and asked him about his comments in light of news that Biden is finally set to visit.
“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?” Saberi asked.
“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,” the mayor replied.
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway says the best time for Biden to visit would be February 2025 when he’s on his book tour. pic.twitter.com/ic7XNGJeEo
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 31, 2024
Conaway’s frustration is echoed by many who have expressed dissatisfaction, and anger over Biden’s inaction.
During the White House press briefing on Wednesday, Phillip Wegmann of Real Clear News asked a question that seemed to momentarily fluster White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Next month, when the president is in East Palestine, will he drink the water there?” the reporter asked.
“I mean, look, what I can tell you is the president’s focus has been to do everything he can to support this community from day one,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“We get what’s going on on the ground, we understand what’s going on, that’s why we had the EPA and DOT and HHS and FEMA on the ground, you know, this is not about some sort of political stunt here. This is not about this president being a president for everyone and showing up, showing up for this community. That’s what this is about,” she said, not answering the question.
ICYMI: KJP Refuses To Say If Biden Will Drink Water In East Palestine
READ pic.twitter.com/1ePgIoDBJ2— Dominica Romanda (@DominicRomanda) February 1, 2024
“I’m not going to get into some sort of political stunts about drinking water. We’re going to focus on making sure they have what they need. The president was invited by the mayor and community leaders, he’s going to show up. He always said he’d be there when it was most helpful,” she added.
Wegmann attempted to get an actual answer to his question.
“The reason I ask is despite some of the federal assurances, there are folks on the ground who are not political and just very concerned, and they doubt some of the –” he began before Jean-Pierre interrupted.
.@PhilipWegmann: “The reason I ask is despite some of the — the federal assurances, there — there are folks on the ground who are not political —”
KJP: “Yeah.”
Wegmann: “— and are just very concerned, and they — they doubt some of the assurances they got from federal… pic.twitter.com/Tg7gTqjKLy
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 31, 2024
“And we understand that, we get that, we get that. Something horrible happened to that community… We’re taking this incredibly seriously. And the president is going to go down there in February, when the time permits, the best time to do this… to visit the community and be there, and it is not going to be about politics. It is not about being in a red state or a blue state,” she said.
“You hear this from the president over and over again, because he wants to make sure he is there for this community,” the press secretary concluded, never seeming to get to the heart of the reporter’s question.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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