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February 28, 2023 : Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) stated on Sunday that President Biden should see the Ohio town reeling from the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals, rather than traversing to Virginia this week to talk about healthcare.
The Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of White House stated that Biden plans to utilize his speech at an event in Virginia Beach recently to mark a contrast between his healthcare preferences and those of his GOP associates.
During a discussion on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo questioned Youngkin about Biden’s upcoming stop to his home state.
“Joe Biden’s been to Ukraine, now he’s arriving to Virginia. President has yet to go to Ohio,” Youngkin conveyed Bartiromo.
“And he wants to speak about healthcare, why doesn’t he go someplace where people really have real health worry that are driving them to concern about not just the day-to-day effects of this terrible train crash, but the long term impacts with cancer threats, etc.” he stated.
“This is a point for leaders to lead,” Youngkin said. “And Joe Biden ought to lead here and I just think it’s really, really unimaginable that he has yet to travel to Ohio and help these people that need the assistance.”
In a White House press briefing on Thursday, Jean-Pierre said that Biden had no schedules to visit the site of the train derailment, stating he had already put forth a “multi-agency” endeavor in response to the mishap.
Youngkin, who is seen as a possible GOP presidential candidate in 2024, is among many major GOP figures who have vilified Biden for not calling East Palestine.
Ex-President Trump, who is now running for president for the third time, blamed the Biden administration of “indifference and disloyalty” toward East Palestine citizens during a visit there earlier this week.
“Sadly, as you know, in too many cases your goodness and perseverance were encountered with indifference and betrayal in some cases,” Trump declared. “And Biden and FEMA stated they would not send help to East Palestine under any circumstance.”
During his own stop to the Ohio town, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday dubbed on Trump to support the Biden administration in switching Trump-era deregulations that some have condemned for contributing to the mishap.
The train hauling toxic chemicals derailed near the Pennsylvania state line earlier this month, provoking a massive fire and prompting authorities to vacate about half of the 4,800 inhabitants in the surrounding region, including the East Palestine village, Ohio.
