Former President Trump Visits East Palestine Ahead of Secretary Buttigieg

Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, February 22, as the community worked to recover following the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals earlier in the month.

Video posted by Twitter user @StokeyBones, which he said was captured on Wednesday, shows cheering people lining streets in East Palestine as Trump’s motorcade arrived. Footage shows former president Trump and Donald Trump Jr waving to the crowd.

Trump criticized President Joe Biden, saying that the current administration has shown “indifference and betrayal” to the East Palestine community.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited the derailment site on Thursday, saying that he was meeting with investigators and first responders.

Secretary Buttigieg responded to the criticism of the “timing” of the Department of Transportation visit, saying he was “starting to think some in Washington want that to be the main focus so that there aren’t too many questions about rail safety regulation, who is for and who is against.” Credit: @StokeyBones via Storyful

Video transcript

[CHEERING]

[HONKING]

[CHEERS]

- President Trump!

- Get him back!

- Kind of see him now. He's the guy in the red hat.

[CHEERING]

- Yeah, Donald Trump.