'We're not afraid to own our policies': Pete Buttigieg hits back at Donald Trump over Ohio train blame



United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg traveled to the site of the February 3rd Norfolk Souther train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday to assess the environmental damage and human health issues caused by the toxic chemicals that were released in the crash.

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump staged a publicity tour of the small town where he accused President Joe Biden's administration – especially Buttigieg – of not doing enough to address the ecological disaster, which is being managed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the request of Republican Governor Mike DeWine. Norfolk Southern was ordered by the EPA on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup.

Buttigieg addressed Trump's critiques at a press conference.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Jr.: Pete Buttigieg only became transportation secretary because 'he's the gay guy'

“I’m here for the work, and not for the politics. You can sense when you talk to local leaders and local residents that they’re getting sick of the politics too and this national ideological layer that’s been added into this," Buttigieg said, per Forbes. But Buttigieg also fired back at Trump's claim that "he had nothing to do with" the accident amid uncertainty over whether Trump's railway safety regulatory rollbacks led to the mess.

"Yeah, you mentioned a national political figure who's decided to get involved? It sounds like you're talking about Trump and then you said, I need your help. How can he help?" a reporter asked Buttigieg.

"Well, one thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration. So if he had nothing to do with it and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he could come out and say that he supports us moving in a different direction," Buttigieg replied. "We're not afraid to own our policies when it comes to raising the bar on regulation. And I've gotta think that him indicating that this is something that everybody, no matter how much you disagree on politics and presidential campaigns, can get behind – higher fines, tougher regulations on safety, Congress untying our hands on breaking rules – all the other things that go with that."

Buttigieg then quipped that it would "be a nice thing for him to do."

READ MORE: Republicans don't care about human health regardless of who is to blame for the Ohio train disaster

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: Even Fox News admits Elaine Chao 'never' visited an accident as Buttigieg travels to East Palestine



from Alternet.org https://ift.tt/1DH3qrJ
via sinceretalk

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How misinformation could shape the Israel-Hamas war

Image
I wanted to interview Nicholas Grossman regarding the role of misinformation in the war between Israel and Hamas. In particular, I hoped to ask the professor of international relations at the University of Illinois, and senior editor of Arc Digital , about misinformation that arose from American reporting on an explosion at a hospital in Gaza. You know what? I ended up repeating a bit of misinformation! I asked him to lay out the facts about a blast that “killed hundreds, including kids,” and he said nuh-uh (not his words). In fact, Professor Grossman said, “there never were hundreds killed by an explosion at that hospital. Media reported that the hospital was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike killing 500, but that was based on something a Hamas-controlled agency said and was never supported by evidence.” Professor Grossman went on to say “what apparently did happen is something hit a nearby parking lot and caused a smaller explosion, most likely a rocket fired from Gaza towards I
Read more

PA GOP Senate candidate who says he 'started with nothing' actually grew up in a mansion

Image
David McCormick, who is Pennsylvania's presumptive Republican U.S. Senate nominee, has often suggested he grew up poor in a rural community. But a new report finds that his upbringing was far more affluent than he's suggested. The New York Times reported Friday that McCormick — a former hedge fund executive who lived in Connecticut as recently as 2022 — has been cagey with voters about his childhood. McCormick has tweeted that he was "raised in Bloomsburg working on his family's farm," said on a 2022 podcast that he " started with nothing " and told CBS News that same year that he " didn't have anything " growing up as the son of two schoolteachers. But according to the Times , McCormick's father, Dr. James H. McCormick , was appointed president of what is now Bloomsburg University by Gov. Milton Schapp (D) in 1973. He moved his family into Buckalew Place — the official mansion for presidents of the school that currently spans 5
Read more

'It is his aphrodisiac': Ex-RNC chair explains how gag order 'stimulates' Trump and his base

Image
As President Donald Trump faces gag orders in two separate cases — one from Judge Arthur Engoron presiding over his New York civil fraud trial, and the other from Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside of his Washington, DC January 6 trial in March — some experts expect him to violate the orders soon. With a history of threatening and verbally attacking others, MSNBC's Deadline: White House host Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday pointed to the fact the ex-president's rhetoric influenced January 6 rioters who chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!" Noting Trump "gets deeply stimulated and excited by the violence," Wallace asked analyst and ex-Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele what he thinks the MAGA hopeful's "calculation is on whether violating these gag orders lands him in jail is a good thing or bad thing for him." POLL : Should Trump be allowed to hold office again? Steele replied, "You put your finger on two very important words t
Read more