On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden has no plans to visit the citizens of East Palestine, Ohio after a train carrying hazardous chemicals was derailed in Columbiana County.
“I don’t have anything to share on a presidential visit, not at this time, or anything to announce. But it does matter that the president put forth a multi-agency kind of reaction to this, taking it seriously,” Jean-Pierre said.
President Joe Biden has no plans to travel to East Palestine, but Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did. Instead, Biden traveled to Ukraine to meet with citizens and public officials as Russia attempts to invade the European nation.
“Showing up is having the Environmental Protection administer on the ground, showing up is having the Transportation secretary on the ground … all these guys are on the ground at the direction of this president,” Jean-Pierre added.
President Joe Biden has faced intense scrutiny for his decision not to travel to the site of the train derailment this week. Most notably, Biden’s political foe, Donald Trump, visited East Palestine and condemned the President.
“If they don’t come back and give you the treatment that you need, we will come back,” he said in reference to the Biden administration.
