(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Former President Donald Trump said the United States looked like a “third-world nation” as he visited East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a massive disaster caused by a derailed freight train.
A freight train transporting toxic chemicals derailed near the town of 5,000 on February 3, causing large fires, explosions, and the evacuation of the local population.
The administration of President Joe Biden has been criticized for reacting to the disaster slowly and inadequately, with FEMA refusing federal aid because the calamity was not of “natural” character.
Biden himself has been slammed for not paying a visit to the affected town while going halfway across the world to show America’s support for a war-torn Ukraine, which was invaded by Putin’s Russia precisely a year ago.
Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the White House in 2024, got ahead of Biden and visited the affected Ohio town on Wednesday, bringing truckloads of water and supplies.
“We’re like a third-world nation, and this is an example of it, the breakdown. Our whole country is breaking down,” Trump said in East Palestine, as cited by Breitbart News.
His comment came at a local McDonald’s, where he bought lunch for all visitors and the town’s fire and police departments.
He referred to the actions of Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was sent to East Palestine, Ohio, by the administration after the former president announced his visit.
Trump declared that Buttigieg “should have been here a long time ago.”
“It had nothing to do with it,” stated the 45th president of the United States after he was asked for his reaction to Buttigieg’s accusation that the derailment was his fault.
The transportation secretary has falsely claimed that a rule on train brakes withdrawn in 2018 “had something to do” with the disaster in East Palestine.
“[Buttigieg] needs to look at the airports, because I have people that are taking planes, and they’re delayed. They’re waiting in an airport for three days. It’s crazy what’s happening,” Trump said.
Unlike Trump, during Thursday’s visit to East Palestine, Ohio, Buttigieg refused to answer reporters’ questions.
In comments last week, Biden’s Transportation Secretary seemed to be downplaying the train disaster by saying that America had about 1,000 train derailments yearly.
“While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing,” Buttigieg stated.
During his visit to East Palestine, Trump mocked Biden by saying that the latter “chose to go a different route,” referencing the Democrat president’s trip to Ukraine and Poland this week.
What is your opinion? Do you agree with Trump’s statement, “We’re like a third-world nation, and this is an example of it, the breakdown. Our whole country is breaking down.” Please share your thoughts and views by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
Former President Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine on Wednesday that “We’re like a third-world nation” with Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary. https://t.co/sFxwUiJnlA
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 23, 2023
