Donald Trump is to tour the damage of the Norfolk Southern derailment and toxic chemical explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, next Wednesday.
“Donald Trump is expected to visit East Palestine next week, according to his son, Donald Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. made the announcement Friday evening on Twitter.
Trump has announced he would again seek the oval office in 2024. FOX 8 has reached out to Trump’s campaign for more information on the visit.
Also on Friday came announcements of increased federal support for the area, which is now recovering from the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals and trying to understand the long-term impacts the spilled materials could have.
In response to the call Thursday for more federal resources from Governor Mike DeWine and the state’s congressional delegation, medical personnel and toxicologists are expected to arrive in the area for public health testing and assessments, WKBN reported.
The state is expected to open a clinic early next week to address residents’ medical concerns and symptoms, the Associated Press.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also mounting support.
‘FEMA and the State of Ohio have been in constant contact regarding emergency operations in East Palestine’, reads a Friday statement from DeWine and FEMA’s Regional Administrator Thomas Sivak.
‘U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA have been working together since day one. [Saturday], FEMA will supplement federal efforts by deploying a Senior Response Official along with a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) to support ongoing operations, including incident coordination and ongoing assessments of potential long-term recovery needs’.
Only moments after Trump declared his planned trip to Ohio, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a reversal on its disaster aid decision in East Palestine.
The White House also reversed itself and pledged to “provide any additional federal assistance the states may need” to address the disaster.
Although Donald Trump’s announced visit likely prompted the FEMA and White House reversals, the optics still lie heavily in Trump’s favor.
In related news, a recent Harvard Cap/Harris poll shows Donald Trump leads Governor Ron DeSantis in a potential Republican primary matchup by 23 percentage points, or by double the governor’s support.
