A majority of likely voters want Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to resign for how he handled the toxic train derailment affecting East Palestine, Ohio, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday found.
Buttigieg was slow to respond to train derailment in the Buckeye State, only opting to visit the area after former President Trump made an effort, the latter of whom made sure that the people of the area knew they were not forgotten.
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Buttigieg, however, only opted to visit the state after Trump, who delivered truckloads of water and bought first responders and others lunch, already had. Prior to Trump’s visit, Buttigieg said he would visit the area when the “time is right.” That time conveniently occurred after Trump’s visit. However, at the time of the visit, neither Buttigieg nor his spokeswoman explained why it took roughly three weeks to visit the area. In fact, Buttigieg’s press secretary even refused to answer questions on camera:
It appears Buttigieg’s handling of the East Palestine train derailment was enough to push enough likely voters into concluding that he should resign.
The survey asked, “Should Buttigieg resign as a result of how the Transportation Department handled the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio?”
Most, 51 percent, said he should resign, followed by 36 percent who said he should not and 13 percent who remain unsure.
Most Republicans and independents, 68 percent and 51 percent, respectively, believe he should resign, compared to 35 percent of Democrats who share that view. A plurality of Democrats, 49 percent, do not believe Buttigieg should resign.
Further, the survey found that a plurality, 41 percent, believe Buttigieg is a “worse” Transportation Secretary than most who held the job before him.
The survey was taken March 6-8, 2023, among 950 likely voters and has a +/- 3 percent margin of error.
The sentiments coincide with the demands made by several House Republicans, including Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who have called on Buttigieg to resign over his botched response to the train derailment.
As Breitbart News reported:
Waltz condemned Buttigieg and his lack of action and called on him to resign in a resolution co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Claudia Tenney (NY), Ryan Zinke (MT), Clay Higgins (LA), Greg Steube (FL), Mary Miller (IL, Bill Posey (FL), Lauren Boebert (CO), and Mike Collins (GA).
“Over the last two years, Secretary Buttigieg has gone AWOL during multiple national crises,” Waltz explained, citing the recent commercial flight crises to Buttigieg’s failure to effectively respond to the “environmental, and humanitarian disaster in East Palestine.”