Trump promotes his brand of bottled water in visit to train derailment disaster
Former US President Donald Trump has used a visit to the town devastated by a toxic train derailment to promote his own brand of bottled water.
Trump, who is making a third run for the White House, held a rally in East Palestine, Ohio, where the February 3 derailment led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination.
Following the incident, locals were told to not drink the tap water and despite later being given 'all clear' by authorities, many still have hesitations.
Speaking at a lectern reading 'Trump. Make America Great Again 2024', the former-President said: “We’re bringing thousands of bottles of water - Trump Water, actually.
The former-President used to the visit as a chance to get donations for his 2024 campaign (Matt Freed/AP/REX/Shutterstock)"Most of it. Some of it we had to go to a much lesser quality of water. You want to get those Trump bottles, more than anything else.”
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On his way out of two following his speech, Trump stopped by a local McDonald’s, where he passed out MAGA hats, ordered meals for first responders and picked up food for the plane ride home.
“Have fun, everybody,” Trump told gathered supporters after signing autographs.
Black smoke spewing from the crash site (Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)He also took the opportunity to criticise the federal response to the toxic train derailment which he branded a “betrayal”.
He was speaking around half a mile from where the three dozen freight cars — including 11 carrying hazardous materials — came off the tracks.
Initial reports suggest the fiery, mangled mess followed a mechanical issue with a rail car axle. A formal report from the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to be released later today (February 23).
Trump wearing a MAGA hat standing alongside donated water (Matt Freed/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Vinyl chloride was released into the air from five of those crashed cars before crews ignited it to get rid of the highly flammable, toxic chemicals, creating a dark plume of smoke seen for miles around.
Thousands of dead fish have also been found in local streams and reports of livestock dying have sparked fears the contamination is far worse than initial reports suggested.
Trump leapt on Biden’s decision to make a surprise visit to Ukraine this week, saying he hoped Biden would have “some money left over” for the residents of the beleaguered town.
Trump water donated by the former-President (Matt Freed/AP/REX/Shutterstock)But Trump's legacy from his time in the White House of gutting rail safety regulations has also been brought into question.
Sarah Feinberg, head of the Federal Railroad Administration in the final years of Barack Obama’s administration, said: “The Trump administration rolled back and killed some regulations we had been working on; in many cases, they just stopped working on regulations altogether.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks at the East Palestine Fire Department during his visit (Matt Freed/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“The impression that the safety apparatus got was that what industry wanted, industry got.”
The Biden White House has defended its response to the derailment, saying officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were on site within hours of the derailment.
The White House says it has also offered federal assistance and that FEMA has been coordinating with the state emergency operations centre and other partners.
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