President Joe Biden on Saturday claimed that he has not “had the occasion” to go East Palestine, Ohio, despite promising to do so back in March, after a train derailment resulted in a toxic chemical spill that led to air and water contamination of the village.
Biden gave a rambling answer after a reporter asked him why he had not yet visited, saying:
I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on here, and I just haven’t been able to break. I was thinking about I’d go to East Palestine this week but then I was reminded I’ve gotta go literally around the world. I’m going from, from Washington to India to Vietnam to — and so it’s gonna be awhile but we’re making sure that East Palestine has what they need materially in order to deal with their problems.
Biden was at the time in Florida to survey damage from Hurricane Idalia. Just weeks ago, he visited Maui to survey the damage done by the fires on the island.
However, it is not clear why Biden has not found the time to visit East Palestine, which is still recovering from the spill. It is expected to cost at least $803 million to remove all the hazardous chemicals, as well as other related costs, according to the Associated Press.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) posted a response to Biden on X:
As Breitbart News’ Sean Moran reported, Biden last month flew directly over East Palestine on his way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for an event promoting “Bidenomics,” his economic agenda.
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