U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg delivers remarks to the press as he visited the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment on February 23, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. On February 3rd, a Norfolk Southern Railways train carrying toxic chemicals derailed causing an environmental disaster. Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate after the area was placed under a state of emergency and temporary evacuation orders. (Photo by Michael Swensen/Getty Images)
OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 2:15 PM PT – Thursday, February 23, 2023
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is being mocked after making an unfortunate pun during his visit to the affected residents of East Palestine, Ohio after a disastrous train derailment on Thursday.
On February 13, Buttigieg posted his first tweet regarding the tragedy, stating that he was still “concerned about the impacts” on the local population. In order to maintain accountability and continue to support safety, he promised to use all “necessary authorities.”
While addressing the residents, he stumbled on his words during the speech and said to the audience that he had lost his “train of thought.”
Twitter users were quick to add their own puns to the mix including joking that Buttigieg “got off track” or that the secretary is just “lost when it comes to trains in general.”
This comes as he is facing criticism for only appearing at East Palestine nearly three weeks after the accident. His stop follows 45th President Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit. President Joe Biden has yet to visit the city himself.
President Trump visits the people of East Palestine, Ohio and brings them water & supplies while Joe Biden only cares about pushing more war and US money in Ukraine.
Thank you President Trump for continuing to show what America First looks like. 🇺🇸
pic.twitter.com/C3jFZS1A3t
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 22, 2023
Some GOP lawmakers are calling for Buttigieg to resign or be fired to which the White House has responded by saying that they are standing behind the transportation secretary.
The derailment in Ohio follows a string of other traffic disturbances, including a threatened statewide rail strike, airline schedule chaos, and a computer glitch at the Federal Aviation Administration that grounded planes all over the country. Republicans in Congress and conservative media sites have harshly criticized him for these, portraying him as overburdened or as disengaged from the job and making fun of his concern for topics such as racial justice and climate change.
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