People in Ohio and Pennsylvania have been suffering since a devastating train derailment dumped hazardous chemicals polluting the air and contaminating the water.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took so long to respond, he may as well have been on a second paternity leave.
And Pete Buttigieg and his spokeswoman just had a meltdown after they finally showed up at the train spill site.
Buttigieg is too little, too late
It took him three weeks, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally made it to East Palestine, Ohio – the site of a hazardous chemical spill following a train derailment that has contaminated the entire area.
It took heavy criticism and a visit to the disaster site by former President Donald Trump to get Mayor Pete to at last make the trip from D.C. to the Buckeye State.
This isn’t Buttigieg’s first failure in his two years as President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.
He’s failed to address the national supply-chain shortage that has contributed to record-high consumer prices.
He’s scolded construction crews for employing too many white people and also called the roads racist.
And what he’s most known for is his two-months of paternity leave after he and his husband adopted twins.
And even when he was in the distressed community of East Palestine, Buttigieg continued to make mistakes.
Buttigieg won’t say why he’s been MIA
Upon his arrival, Buttigieg refused to take questions from conservative journalist Savanna Hernandez and other independent journalists.
Pete Buttigieg refuses to answer questions to media here in East Palestine.
His people escort him away.@DrewHLive | @TPUSA pic.twitter.com/2lbuDxpDWf
— Rebecca Brannon (@RebsBrannon) February 23, 2023
Hernandez simply asked Mayor Pete why it took him so long to come take a tour of the disaster area.
But Buttigieg said he wasn’t there to talk politics, ignored Hernandez and others and walked off, escorted by law enforcement.
Independent journalists are too “aggressive” for Buttigieg
What’s more, Buttigieg’s Press Secretary Kerry Arndt – yes, the Secretary of Transportation apparently needs the services of his own press secretary — then scolded Hernandez for daring to ask a question of the failed Democrat Presidential candidate.
I asked Sec. Buttigieg why it took him almost 3 weeks to come and speak to residents of East Palestine.
His press Secretary then told me I was aggressive for trying to ask questions on camera: pic.twitter.com/bOB52DIq0O
— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) February 23, 2023
“I asked Sec. Buttigieg why it took him almost three weeks to come and speak to residents of East Palestine,” Hernandez tweeted after the incident. “His press Secretary then told me I was aggressive for trying to ask questions on camera.”
In an attempt to free her boss of Hernandez’ questions, Arndt said she could handle questions.
However, she immediately refused to answer and said she didn’t want to be on camera – reminder, her job is as a press secretary.
Arndt stubbornly refused to answer several follow questions, always resorting back to the line, “I’m happy to answer any questions, I don’t want you guys to have your cameras on.”
When Hernandez asked why, Arndt said she found reporters asking questions on camera to be too “aggressive” for her.
Buttigieg supporters tried to get law enforcement involved, but since she was on public grounds, the police officer told her she had the right to go away if she didn’t like the cameras.
Hernandez’ questions are sound.
Why did it take so long for Buttigieg to arrive in East Palestine, and why did it take a visit from Trump to get the Transportation Secretary to visit?
Why isn’t Buttigieg willing to answer any questions regarding the spill?
And why is the Press Secretary for the Transportation Secretary not willing to answer questions on camera?
Buttigieg’s rotten record
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Buttigieg has struggled in his role as Transportation Secretary.
After all, his lone credentials for such an important position are eight-years as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana – a town of just 100,000 residents – a failed White House bid and, apparently, being gay.
On February 3rd, a derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio dumped highly volatile vinyl chloride on the ground and into the water of the area.
Biden’s EPA decided to do a chemical burn with the spill, releasing the carcinogen into the air.
The Post Millennial is reporting local residents have reported a chemical smell in the air, as well as dead fish and animals like chickens.
Unlike Mayor Pete, freshman Republican Sen. JD Vance almost immediately arrived to survey the damage and comfort residents.
Vance found the water in the area was so rainbow colored it looked like a pride flag.
Vance not only took questions from reports – as did Donald Trump on his visit – but he also released a video to social media showing the contaminated water, in an attempt to get the Biden Administration to take the disaster seriously.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
