Trump Said East Palestine Wouldn't Be 'Forgotten.' Will He Remember?
In the two years after the trail derailment, Norfolk Southern pumped $5 million into Washington, leaving much-needed reform a pipe dream.
In February 2023, donning his signature red “Make America Great Again” branded hat, Donald Trump addressed the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. "You are not forgotten,” Trump assured a crowd of leaders, emergency workers, and the media just weeks after a train derailment and chemical burn devastated the community. Joined by then-Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump handed out pallets of his so-called “Trump Spring Water” to residents.
In the two years since the Norfolk Southern derailment, East Palestine continues to reel from its impact. While some limited regulations were enacted to make the rail industry safer, many of the promised large-scale reforms remain in limbo. And with Trump back in the Oval Office – after waging a war against regulations during his last term – and the rail industry spending millions on its lobbying efforts, the government does not seem poised to make the changes needed to ensure disasters like the East Palestinian derailment won’t happen again.
Blame Game
The disaster happened on Feb. 3, 2023. A Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Toxic chemicals spilled from train cars and set fire, killing animals and inflicting residents with an array of maladies, including rashes, stomach pain, and respiratory complications.
In the immediate aftermath, Republicans and Democrats traded blame. Republicans, including Trump – who was at that time running for the Republican presidential nomination – said the Biden administration responded too slowly and betrayed East Palestine residents. Democrats pointed to railway regulations and environmental protections loosened during the Trump administration.
Yet, despite the blame game and distraction, there seemed to be one thing many Democrats and some GOP lawmakers, including anti-regulatory Republicans, seemed to agree on: There needed to be strong regulation of the rail industry.