Vicky Arias, FISM News
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Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday visited the town of East Palestine, Ohio, where a disastrous train derailment occurred on Feb. 3.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was visiting Europe and has yet to make an appearance in East Palestine.
Trump met with local residents of the Ohio town and arranged for goods and thousands of bottles of water to be delivered to them.
Many in the area fear contamination from the toxic train spill, resulting from the derailment, may corrupt the town’s soil and natural water supplies.
According to CNN, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine “said 4,588 cubic yards of soil and 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water have been removed so far from East Palestine.”
Journalist Benny Johnson reported that “tens of thousands of pounds of goods, food, [and] water [were] delivered to the people of East Palestine, Ohio … before Trump’s visit [and] Trump paid for all of it.”
Tens of thousands of pounds of goods, food, water being delivered to the people of East Palestine, Ohio right now before Trump’s visit.
Trump paid for all of it.
Number of goods delivered from the Biden Administration: 0. pic.twitter.com/QQADqZl9Uy
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 22, 2023
In a speech to the town, Trump told the residents that “over the past few weeks, [East Palestine] has shown the tough and resilient heart of America … [but] unfortunately … in too many cases, [their] goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal in some cases.”
The “indifference” the former president was referring to was the delayed response by FEMA after the disaster. FEMA initially told Ohio’s governor that the state was “not eligible for assistance,” but, after more than two weeks, reversed course and arrived on the scene.
As the fallout from the disaster, which forced thousands from their homes, continues in Ohio, President Biden has yet to prioritize a visit to the area. He did, however, make it to Ukraine on Monday.
While there, Biden revealed that the United States would be sending another delivery of weapons to the nation.
“Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine,” Biden said. “I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments.”
According to the Department of Defense, the United States has sent “more than $24.2 billion” to Ukraine since Feb. 24 of last year.
A DIFFERENCE IN PRIORITY
Michael Siefert, CEO and founder of the Public Square platform, contrasted the difference in priorities between Trump and the Biden administration, citing the fact that as the former president planned to visit Ohio, President Biden traveled to Ukraine and promised more aid to the eastern European country.
“Joe Biden went to Ukraine to give them even more American tax dollars,” Seifert posted on Twitter. “Donald Trump went to East Palestine to bring them truckloads of water. America last vs. America first.”
The mayor of East Palestine, Trent Conaway, sharply criticized President Biden for not visiting the town.
Conaway described it as “the biggest slap in the face,” in a Fox News interview with Jesse Waters. “That tells you right now he doesn’t care about us,” Conaway said. “He can send every agency he wants to, but I found … out this morning … that he was in … Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us and I’m furious.”
According to NotTheBee, Trump’s Ohio visit highlighted the care he has for American citizens.
“This is not just good politics and good optics,” the outlet stated. “It’s actually a decent thing to do. He’s showing true human empathy for the people forgotten and ignored by the Democrats. It’s why he won in 2016.”