Amid Attacks on Biden, Bret Baier Notes Trump Officials Didn’t Visit Train Derailment Sites Either – Even Fatal Ones
President Joe Biden has endured heavy criticism from conservatives for not visiting East Palestine, Ohio after a train derailment released toxic chemicals into the environment earlier this month.
Those attacks grew louder this week as Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine nearly a year after Russia invaded the country. Critics claim it shows the president cares more about Ukrainians than Americans.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is expected to visit the site on Thursday after also being criticized for not going.
On Wednesday’s Special Report, Baier referenced the broadsides against Biden and noted that cabinet President Donald Trump and his Transportation secretary similarly did not visit sites of derailments – including fatal ones, which East Palestine’s was not.
“There is this political moment and there is a lot of criticism of the Transportation Secretary,” Baier said. “Politico pointing out that Secretary Buttigieg will visit there… Quote, ‘He’s also expected to meet with DOT officials who arrived on the ground within hours of the derailment.’ They point out, ‘It is exceedingly rare for a transportation secretary to visit the site of a train derailment, especially one that resulted in no fatalities.'”
Baier called the assessment “fair” and “accurate.”
“There were train derailments in the Trump administration that actually had fatalities that didn’t have a visit by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao,” Baier said. “But this seems to have some momentum about the administration and its reaction to this derailment in particular.”
Fox News Chief Political Analyst Brit Hume added that Biden’s trip to Ukraine is more than justified because it involves the security of the U.S. He said that “substantively, it doesn’t make much difference” whether Biden visits the derailment site.
Trump visited East Palestine earlier in the day, where he told residents he brought them “Trump water” amid concerns about the potability of drinking water there. He declared his candidacy for president in November.
Watch above via Fox News.
