Last Updated on February 18, 2023
President Donald J. Trump has announced his plans to visit the East Palestine, Ohio community where a Norfolk Southern train derailed, pumping deadly toxic chemicals into the local ecosystem in a disaster that’s been compared to the Chernobyl meltdown. President Trump plans to visit with members of the local community, who’ve been ignored by the Biden and DeWine administrations.
Fox News is reporting that President Trump plans to visit the community of East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, February 22nd, where he will meet with members of the local community who’ve had their suffering largely dismissed by government agencies and railroad oligarchs, who insist that life should just return to normal, as acid rain falls from the sky and drinking water becomes tainted.
Some members of the community have reportedly been offered $1,000 checks by Norfolk Southern, in a naked attempt to buy their silence and disqualify them from future legal claims.
In a post to Truth Social, confirming his plans to visit East Palestine, President Trump said that the community is full of “great people who need help, NOW.”
After initially denying aid requests to the East Palestine community, the Biden Administration has reportedly changed its mind, spurred by President Trump’s announcement.
Columbiana County, the county that East Palestine sits within, is deep red and gave more than 71% of its votes to President Trump in 2020.
A reported number of 50 train cars ran off the tracks in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3rd, dumping vinyl chloride among other deadly chemicals into the local water supply and overall environment. The damage was compounded when GOP Governor Mike DeWine ordered 5 remaining train cars to be set ablaze, burning a massive chemical mushroom cloud into the sky and spreading the damage around the region.
Related: East Palestine Residents, Senator Vance Demonstrate Water Pollution Near Derailment Site
Concern has been expressed about the environmental integrity of a 200-mile radius region around East Palestine. The region includes at least 198 counties and extends beyond neighboring states, into Western portions of Virginia, Maryland, and Upstate New York.
According to an Ohio-based attorney familiar with the situation on the ground, Governor DeWine could be held civilly or even criminally liable for the damage his call to burn the remaining train cars did to the East Palestine community.
Critics of the decision say that Governor DeWine and railroad authorities made the decision to “nuke” East Palestine to avoid delays and make sure that trains continued moving down the tracks, regardless of the massive costs to human health and safety the decision incurred.
Read More: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Could be Criminally Liable for ‘Nuking’ of East Palestine
This story is developing. Stick with National File for updates as they become available.