Trump mocks Buttigieg on train disaster
Former President Donald Trump mocked openly gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday as he continued to blame the Biden administration for dropping the ball on the toxic train derailment in Ohio.
Calling the the trailblazing cabinet member Pete “BUTTedgeedge,” Trump accused Democrats of “gross incompetence” and defended his own record of deregulation, which some critics suggested contributed to the Feb. 3 disaster.
“Pete “BUTTedgeedge” lied when he said that the Trump Administrations great and effective reduction in regulations ... had (anything) to do with the East Palestine train derailment,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “It was just more Dem disinformation in order to deflect from their gross incompetence.”
Trump, who visited the site of the accident in East Palestine, Ohio last week, joined a chorus of Republican leaders trashing President Biden and his cabinet for botching the response to the toxic crash.
He also praised a Washington Post fact-check story that concluded none of the regulatory changes he implemented played any role in making the accident more likely.
“Really good investigative journalism,” Trump wrote. “Keep it going!”
The leader of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation denounced Trump for “dangerous rhetoric” about Buttigieg.
“The former president will do and say anything regardless of the harm it causes to LGBTQ people and all Americans from marginalized communities,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 38-car freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed apparently after its bearings overheated.
No one was hurt, but concerns over a potential explosion led state and local officials to approve releasing and burning toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars.
The derailment forced half the town of about 4,000 people to evacuate for days as toxic chemicals burned and created lingering health concerns for residents. Officials say tests have found no dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or water in the area.