“They were busy,” hits East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, referring to Joe Biden’s absence amid the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster the town faced.
On Wednesday, Mayor Conaway jokingly said during a dinner in Columbiana, Ohio, “I would first like to thank Joe Biden and Hunter Biden for visiting the town…”
Donald Trump Jr. hosted the event and introduced the mayor to the stage.
The East Palestine mayor slammed how the media ignored their plight and only during former President Trump’s visit to their town last February “really changed the way people saw us — the town.”
Conaway added, “They realized that we needed help.”
The mayor pressed that they have been pleading for help but were only taken seriously by government agencies after the GOP leader visited, “so we thank you. Without you, this could have been different, so we thank you.”
“The support you showed to me and my residents, we appreciate it, you have no idea how much we appreciated that — it really changed things,” Conaway remarked.
To express their gratitude, the mayor announced that he would rally behind the Republican nominee.
“And that’s why in 2024, I will support your father’s reelection,” said Conaway.
A year ago, residents of East Palestine suffered burning eyes, nose, throat, and other complications after a train carrying highly toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.
The disaster spilled chemicals that poisoned the entire community. Clean-up crews also ignited five train cars, creating a thick smoke that resembled a mushroom cloud, as they tried to swiftly wipe the chemicals out.
As a result, half of the town’s population evacuated. While most were able to go back to their homes, they raised concerns about the air and water quality.
Trump, during the wake of the disaster, attended to the community and brought truckloads of bottled water for the residents. This forced government agencies to look into the town’s concerns.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on the other hand, resorted first to a disinformation campaign instead of immediately addressing East Palestine’s woes.
He only went to check on the disaster after receiving backlash.
Meanwhile, President Biden decided he was too busy to set foot in the town amid the trail derailment issue.
A White House official, as if mocking the people of East Palestine, recently said that the President plans to visit the town this February to discuss with the residents the effect of the train derailment.
