(Washington Examiner) Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will visit East Palestine, Ohio, next week, following a report on Friday that claimed he would visit the town.
Trump claimed on social media that President Joe Biden and the Federal Emergency Management Agency would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine, but reversed course “as soon as I announced that I’m going.” The initial report by Fox News claiming Trump would visit East Palestine was published at 6:12 p.m. EST on Friday, with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announcing roughly an hour later that FEMA would be deploying federal resources to East Palestine.
“Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “As soon as I announced that I’m going, he announced a team will go. Hopefully he will also be there. This is good news because we got them to ‘move.’ The people of East Palestine need help. I’ll see you on Wednesday!”
FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jan. 28, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Alex Brandon/AP
Trump’s confirmation for his visit comes after the White House announced on Friday that there are no plans for Biden to visit the village, where a toxic train derailment occurred on Feb. 3. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that Biden’s immediate schedule is currently packed with his trip to Poland to mark the beginning of the war in Ukraine one year ago.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) visited East Palestine earlier this week and challenged Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to drink the local tap water. In a video posted to social media, Vance visited a local East Palestine creek where he said there were “dead worms and dead fish” throughout the bed of water, calling it “disgusting” and encouraging viewers to “not forget” the residents of the village.
Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted. It’s time for Norfolk Southern to finish the cleanup. Check this video out: pic.twitter.com/4lsHBmrMJj
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 16, 2023
