An Ohio resident blasted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg following the train disaster in East Palestine, demanding he “step down.”
The resident reported feeling unwell “right after” the train derailment and controlled explosion, saying, “I personally had a couple of friends who did not feel well.”
He experienced “abdomen pain, a lot of pain,” while his friends had coughs, which he described as “definitely not good,” Breitbart reported.
He added that “most people did not take any precautions” because no federal advice was given.
The resident said, “It was just like, ‘Alright, we are going to do a controlled nuke of your town, okay? And look over here while the whole cloud over the whole town is just black,’ going, ‘Oh, it’s definitely not toxic. Don’t worry about a thing.'”
The resident had a message for Buttigieg and President Joe Biden. He said, “Pete Buttigieg, you should step down. That’s the truth. You’re not very good at your job at all. In fact, you stink.”
He added that “Biden’s not really there. We know that,” likening him to the character from “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
On February 3, a train carrying chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas, derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, sparking a fire and thick billowing smoke.
Norfolk Southern, which operated the train, spilled the chemicals. About half of the town’s population was evacuated following the accident, but have since been told it is safe to return home.
Cleanup crews ignited five train cars to eliminate toxic, flammable chemicals in a controlled environment, creating a dark plume of smoke, which was captured in images circulated on social media, sparking concerns.
In the meantime, Buttigieg has focused on other issues.
At a National Association of Counties Conference, he suggested that there are too many white people working in construction, urging attendees to “really work with organized labor, to work with your contractors, to work with your community colleges on holding a workforce that reflects the community.”
Buttigieg blamed former President Donald Trump for the train derailment, saying, “We’re constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation.”
Buttigieg’s swift statement is strange, given recent criticism over his political priorities amid a series of transportation disasters, which is what his main priorities should be.
Critics slammed Buttigieg for taking 10 days to respond to a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that spilled toxic chemicals into the environment on Feb. 3.
Buttigieg has issued a statement about the accident and continues to support the investigation.
During his appearance at the National Association of Counties Conference on Monday, Buttigieg did not address the accident, instead choosing to focus on topics like racial disparities in construction and the bipartisan infrastructure law.
READ MORE: Ohio’s ‘Apocalyptic’ Chemical Disaster Rages on – Media Silent
