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There have been two train wrecks in East Palestine, Ohio.
One substantive — a train derailment and subsequent chemical burn-off that has potentially jeopardized the health of understandably angered residents of the town.
The other: political. As President Biden took what was by all accounts a daring trip to Ukraine as Russia’s war on the country was heading toward its one-year anniversary, Republicans were criticizing Biden for going there instead of East Palestine.
Seeing a political opportunity, former President Donald Trump and a cadre of other conservatives descended on the small town of fewer than 5,000 residents. Trump handed out campaign hats, « Trump »-branded water, and Trump-branded insults of the Biden administration. Then, under political pressure, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his way there, too, met with local leaders and offered his own rejoinders for the former president.
But while political leaders are mired in short-term politics, people in town are concerned about the long-term effects of the air they breathe and the water they drink.A former president trying to look like the current one
Trump accused President Biden of a lack of care for a community of people Trump contends he wouldn’t forget.
« You are not forgotten, » Trump said. « We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve. »
East Palestine is in a county that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, and conservatives have held up the community as something of an example of the kinds of people the political parties value.
« The community has shown the tough and resilient heart of America, » Trump said, « and that’s what it is — this is really America right here. We’re standing in America. »
There have been pitched battles in recent years, at a time when the country is in the midst of a political realignment that largely centers on education and geography, over what « real America » is and who « real Americans » are.
