Donald Trump traveled this Wednesday to the troubled river of the disaster caused by the derailment of a train with toxic products in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. The objective is obviously to make electoral cash in the first steps of his campaign for re-election in the 2024 presidential elections. It was necessary to take advantage of the fertile ground of some voters mostly in his favor in a matter that is delighting conspiracy theorists, that is to say , their people.
Republicans from inside and outside the state have not limited themselves to blaming the Government for its negligence and responsibility in the accident, as is normal; They also blame President Joe Biden for going to Ukraine and Poland on the occasion of the first year of war without deigning to visit this town of 4,700 inhabitants to offer its inhabitants solutions and compensation for the damages they have suffered and the risks they still face. There are no deaths, but there is a danger -for now uncertain and difficult to measure- for the population and the environment
The authorities have insisted for days that neither the water nor the air are contaminated when nineteen days have passed since, on Friday, February 3, 38 of the 50 wagons of a Norfolk Southern train with toxic chemicals left the track. in East Palestine. But fears in part of the population persist. Following the temporary evacuations that were ordered in the area immediately after the accident, some citizens complained of nausea, headaches and itching.
Also surviving in the town - and throughout the world through social networks - eccentric theories about the hidden reality of an "American Chernobyl" that, according to one of the most successful versions among consumers of disinformation, both the White House as the Pentagon and the CIA would have tried to cover up by shooting down the famous Chinese balloon with missiles and the subsequent three unidentified flying objects that appeared in the country's airspace.
At first glance, the scenario seems perfect for Trump. The population of the county to which the town belongs, Columbiana, gave him more than 70% of their votes against Biden in the 2020 elections. And even some Democrats have criticized the actions of federal officials regarding the derailment. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg plans to visit East Palestine this Thursday, but many consider him late.
But the former Republican president also faces risks on this trip of his to friendly territory. As Democrats and unionists took it upon themselves to remind the world, as soon as his visit was announced, the Trump-era Department of Transportation substantially backtracked on rail safety demands.
The national legislative director of the Transportation Division of the Smart sector union, Greg Hynes, called the Republican leader's management of the railways when he occupied the White House "horrible". "All his concern was," he said, "to make the railways as profitable as possible" at whatever cost.
Although there will always be those who support his gesture, Trump's expedition to East Palestine could be derailed.
