Nearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, former failed mayor and current Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited the town today and took a tour of potentially contaminated areas. It didn't go well.
Pete Buttigieg is escorted away from media while his press secretary makes herself known & says she’ll answer questions for him - but only if she isn’t recorded on camera…@TPUSA | @DrewHLive pic.twitter.com/sM12BEfJMi
— Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) February 23, 2023
Pete Buttigieg mispronounces "East Palestine" while making a veiled challenge to Donald Trump after his visit to the Ohio town yesterday. pic.twitter.com/msohMstJXw
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 23, 2023
PETE BUTTIGIEG: "Sorry, I lost my train of thought." pic.twitter.com/ynz6RD0buv
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 23, 2023
During a press conference on scene, Buttigieg was repeatedly asked why it took so long for him to show up and about his rhetoric downplaying the situation.
REPORTER: "You sent your first tweet expressing concern for the residents of East Palestine a week and a half after the accident happened...Was that waiting too long to express anything?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 23, 2023
PETE BUTTIGIEG: "The answer to your question is yes." pic.twitter.com/w763sHYgX9
REPORTER: "Should you have come a little sooner?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 23, 2023
PETE BUTTIGIEG: "I'm trying to strike the right balance." pic.twitter.com/TotjwSK4xR
Buttigieg, in typical fashion, attempted to blame shift with a false narrative about deregulation under President Donald Trump.