It was all for show and votes. Everyone knew it. It took Joe Biden 378 days to finally show up in East Palestine, Ohio after one of the worst train derailments in history. Needless to say, his visit was a solid bust.

Over a year ago, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailment and the aftermath wasn’t handled well, at all. 

While nobody was killed in the Norfolk Southern crash, the train’s derailment and the later decision to vent and burn five tankers containing cancer-causing vinyl chloride created a plume of toxic smoke that could be seen from space and caused a panic over the quality of the town’s drinking water.

Hundreds of residents were ordered to evacuate. Some moved away permanently. Others who eventually returned said they had developed rashes, sore throats, nausea and headaches after returning to their homes, and worried the symptoms were related to chemicals released after a derailment.

Keep in mind, this happened on February 3, 2023. In the middle of winter. Between the toxic smoke, and the leaking of the chloride into the dirt and ground water, it was a fair bet the chemicals were going to cause on-going medical problems for East Palestine residents. And it did, and has. 

Krissy Ferguson, a 49-year-old mother, said she hoped for a chance to meet biden. And she told DailyMail.com on Thursday that she could never return to her home and needed help to move away.

‘I can’t live here anymore,’ she said, her eyes welling with tears. ‘It’s not safe.’

Community activists sent a letter to Biden demanding he issue a major disaster declaration, provide long-term health monitoring and care, and offer relocation funding for those like Ferguson who want to leave.

This was a community that has a population of less than 5,000 who earns an average salary of $60,000 per year. Issues such as their homes being endangered or condemned because of the chemicals, and the growing health issues among the residents can be economically devastating. So one would think that, with the scope of this disaster, the President who campaigned from his basement on “Empathy” would’ve immediately scheduled a visit. But he didn’t and gave weak excuses as to why he didn’t.  

Donald Trump visited and brought clean drinking water, as has (on a continual basis) all of the Ohio delegation. Pete Buttigieg had to be sent kicking and screaming to East Palestine, and essentially phoned his visit in. Yet the residents of East Palestine still need help. Congressman J.D. Vance has been front and center on this. 

He tells me he doesn’t want people who live here to have to fight the government for years to prove their injuries. He cites the litigation over the Camp Lejeune Marine base, where the Department of Health and Human Services found in 2007 that the water was contaminated with toxic chemicals from 1953 through 1987. The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 established a process for adjudicating claims, and the first ones were settled in November 2023.

Mr. Vance wants the government to be proactive about the health risks. He envisions a program in which epidemiologists, toxicologists, cancer researchers and other experts would regularly test residents for abnormal health conditions. “If you talk to people—this is people who want to move on from this disaster . . . they want to know with confidence that 10 years down the road, if something happens to their kids, God forbid, or themselves, they can trace it to this accident or not.” He has asked the administration to allocate $5 million to develop such a program, which hasn’t been tried before.

And now, in an election year, Joe Biden deigns to visit. And it did not go well. 

It is 1000% understandable that residents of East Palestine and the nearby communities are frustrated. Joe Biden literally refused to visit, until now. It’s as plain as the ice cream on his face that this was a purely political election year move. 

Citizen of East Palestine, Ohio, slams Biden's visit 378 days after disaster struck the community:

"I don't want just another politician coming to our town for his propaganda and for his upcoming re-election." pic.twitter.com/HBhgu61spR

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2024

She was not alone. There are many others who were of the same frame of mind.

Happening now in East Palestine, Ohio. The messages is simple, “Too Little Too Late Joe!” The people of East Palestine want Trump back in office; somebody who actually puts #AmericaFirst, not Joe Biden, who puts foreign countries and illegal aliens above American citizens! No… pic.twitter.com/zoD9wOlpwk

— Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News (@BenBergquam) February 16, 2024

Can you blame them? The President, who is supposedly the sympathetic President, couldn’t be bothered to show up until now. To further rub salt in the wound, his entire demeanor was one of vacancy and mumbles. 

I can thoroughly understand the mayor’s commentary and swipe at Biden’s delay in visiting. 

Joe claiming today that he does and did promise to leave no one behind “so help me God” is a horrendous insult to what that community has been dealing with amidst his absence for over a year.

https://twitter.com/LarryDJonesJr/status/1758614091080376339

Joe Biden mumbled and shouted his way through a seven minute speech, shuffled around the train derailment site, and then was involved in a photo op showing him with a glass of water. You see, according to the White House, the time was finally right for a visit. 

You can darned well bet that this visit was literally set up to check that box. East Palestine, Ohio will never be a priority for the Biden Administration. And it showed. 

Feature Photo Credit: Original artwork by Victory Girls Darleen Click