An East Palestine, Ohio resident lambasted Joe Biden over news he was planning to finally visit a year after a toxic train derailment devastated the city.
DJ Yokley warned that Americans see “right through” Biden’s political motivations to visit the town given the presidential election is only nine months away.
“I don’t know if he’s going to be any more confused than we are of why he’s showing up a year later. We see everything he’s doing across different countries, but as American citizens, we understand that there’s nothing he’s done for us, nothing that his administration has done for us other than say ‘we’ll be coming, we’ll be coming,’” Yokley told Fox News on Wednesday.
“The American people have awakened to realize that the leader of our country did not show up to the greatest catastrophe of 2023.”
“Now he’s going to show up because it is an election year, and obviously, the polls show that President Trump came and supported us when he didn’t have to, and I think we saw right through it from the beginning,” he noted.
“I will support any president that serves our country because otherwise it’s like…rooting against your favorite team’s quarterback just to see the backup,” Yokley continued. “It’s a scenario where we know what he’s doing. The American people see it, and now it’s, hey, we have to go visit Palestine because we haven’t done that yet, and…check it off the books.”
A White House official announced Wednesday that Biden will finally visit East Palestine in February to commemorate the anniversary of the derailment disaster.
“In February, President Biden will travel to East Palestine, Ohio, to meet with residents impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment and assess the progress that his Administration has helped deliver in coordination with state and local leaders to protect the community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable,” the official said in a statement.
Biden received widespread criticism for ignoring East Palestine and failing to prioritize evacuations and public health measures as residents were reporting major health issues.
Chernobyl Lite is happening in Ohio right now but we’re not gonna know the extent of the disaster for another 10 years or so, huh pic.twitter.com/jE1FxdovM0
— Manatee of La Mancha (@heckmanatee) February 9, 2023
From CNN:
The incident caused a massive fire and prompted officials to evacuate hundreds of people who lived near the site because of fears that a hazardous, highly flammable material might ignite. To prevent a potentially deadly explosion, toxic vinyl chloride gas was vented and burned, releasing a plume of black smoke over the town for days.
Other chemicals of concern at the site include phosgene and hydrogen chloride, which are released when vinyl chloride breaks down; butyl acrylate; ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate; and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. All these chemicals can change when they break down or react with other things in the environment, creating a stew of potential toxins.
As Yokley mentioned, former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine just days after the toxic train derailment, even before Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arrived.
“You are not forgotten,” Trump told the residents. “We stand with you, we pray for you, and we will stay with you in your fight for the accountability that you deserve.”
President Trump visits the people of East Palestine, Ohio and brings them water & supplies while Joe Biden only cares about pushing more war and US money in Ukraine.
Thank you President Trump for continuing to show what America First looks like.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 22, 2023
Prepare for typical gaslighting by the Biden regime when he insists he did everything he can to help the small town during his visit next month and didn’t in fact ignore the crisis for an entire year.