Important people are finally getting around to visiting the site of the crisis in East Palestine, Ohio, and it's gone about as disastrously as you'd expect.
On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), and Environmental Protection Agency head Michael Regan showed up in East Palestine to drink tap water in an effort to prove it's potable. East Palestine residents have complained of mixed messages from officials, who have said that the water is safe to drink but have also encouraged people to use bottled water if they're uncomfortable drinking from the tap. Tuesday's publicity stunt calls to mind then–Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's 2013 admission that he had taken a swig of fracking fluid. No one in the palpably awkward East Palestine video appears to be chugging the stuff, and anyway, how does one gulp of maybe-toxic water compare to the cumulative effects of drinking, cooking, and bathing with it every day? Who, exactly, is this video supposed to mollify?
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's visit wasn't much better. In a press conference this morning, Buttigieg fielded tough questions about why he hadn't visited prior. Asked why he sent his first tweet expressing concern about East Palestine a week and a half after the derailment, Buttiegieg said, "I felt strongly about this and could have expressed that sooner. I was taking pains to respect the role that I have and the role that I don’t have, but that should not have stopped me from weighing in about how I felt about what was happening to this community." Buttigieg didn't commit any glaring faux pas, but he's still getting flack from internet commentators about his press secretary's refusal to answer questions from a Turning Point USA reporter on camera.
But former President Trump's Wednesday visit takes the cake in terms of absurdity. Trump's popularity in East Palestine has fueled right-wing conspiracy theories that the Biden administration is ignoring the town's residents in retaliation. (To be clear: Both Republicans and Democrats have done a disservice to Ohioans.)
In addition to donating his own branded water to East Palestine residents, Trump bought McDonald's for the town's fire and police departments. As a huge Mickey D's fan myself, I don't begrudge Trump the gesture, but his behavior inside the store showed how unaccustomed he is to interacting with normal, nonwealthy people. After insisting that he knew more about the McDonald's menu than any of the employees, Trump handed a new "Make America Great Again" hat to a kid who was already wearing one. "I like that one, but this one’s even nicer," Trump said. "It’s more expensive, I can tell you. This is triple the price of that one."
Some people, including East Palestine's mayor, have slammed Biden for his failure to visit the disaster site. But based on the other visitors' performances, I'm thinking it might be in the president's best interest to stay away.
—Abigail Weinberg
