CNN reporter says Biden could be 'digging up toxic muck' in East Palestine and residents wouldn't care
CNN reporter Miguel Masquez said Monday that residents of East Palestine don't really care if President Biden visits the town following the toxic train derailment as he highlighted their support for Donald Trump.
CNN's Miguel Marquez claimed Monday that President Biden could be "digging up toxic muck" in East Palestine, Ohio, and it wouldn't move the "needle" with the residents following the toxic train derailment.
"CNN This Morning" host Poppy Harlow asked if he believed East Palestine residents care if President Biden visits or not.
"I don't think they really care," Marquez said. "They love Donald Trump. Joe Biden could be out there in a, you know, in a hard hat and protective gear and a shovel, digging up toxic muck, I don’t think it would move the needle very much in this area. But they’re doing, you know, Pete Buttigieg met with the mayor privately after that meeting. The mayor, who had been very critical of the administration said, ‘You know what? I’m more satisfied than ever. I’m cautiously optimistic that not only will we get through this but East Palestine will be better because of it.’"
The reporter added that Columbiana County, Ohio, where East Palestine is located, voted for former President Donald Trump by 68% in 2016 and 71% in 2020.
CNN's Miguel Marquez joined the hosts of "CNN This Morning" on Monday, February 27, 2023 (Screenshot/CNN/CNNThisMorning)
OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT: BUTTIGIEG ADMITS HE WAITED TOO LONG TO PUBLICLY RESPOND
Co-host Kaitlan Collins said that it does bring a spotlight when the president goes somewhere as Biden does not currently have plans to visit East Palestine.
"It’s a spotlight. And I think that no one is injured, no one was killed in this thing. I think those are considerations that they make. They say they’re not going now. But I think, you know, in two weeks, three weeks, I think things may look different. Who knows?" Marquez added.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited East Palestine on Thursday, twenty days following the toxic train derailment.
About 50 rail cars, including 10 carrying toxic chemicals, derailed on Feb. 3 in East Palestine.
Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary, speaks during a news conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, US, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday and donated cleaning supplies as well as his "Trump Spring Water."
"You are not forgotten. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve," Trump told a crowd of local leaders, first responders and media at an East Palestine fire station.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the East Palestine Fire Department in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 22, 2023 (REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images)
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The president did make a surprise visit to Ukraine on Feb. 20 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He also announced an additional half-billion dollars in U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
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