Pete Buttigieg admits he got it wrong on the Ohio train derailment response.
But while the criticism is fair, he says, the critics are mostly not.
“It’s really rich to see some of these folks – the former president, these Fox hosts – who are literally lifelong card-carrying members of the East Coast elite, whose top economic policy priority has always been tax cuts for the wealthy, and who wouldn’t know their way around a T.J. Maxx if their life depended on it, to be presenting themselves as if they genuinely care about the forgotten middle of the country,” the Transportation Secretary said. “You think Tucker Carlson knows the difference between a T.J. Maxx and a Kohl’s?”
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Buttigieg acknowledged mistakes. He said he should have gone to East Palestine, Ohio, earlier. He said he failed to anticipate the political fallout from the toxic train derailment, despite months of transportation problems like mass flight cancellations and an air traffic control system shutdown that left many Americans frustrated.
But he also punched back at critics, arguing that many of the problems he’s being blamed for are only partially connected to his portfolio and mostly out of his direct control.
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‘What’s Buttigieg going to do next?’
There were no cable news segments about Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack when the price of eggs spiked in January. EPA head Michael Regan is the one whose agency has actually taken the lead on the response to the East Palestine derailment – including signing off on the since-questioned decision to do a controlled burn of some of the hazardous materials – but few in Washington or beyond could pick him out of a crowd.
Instead, it’s Buttigieg at the center of the attention and the one being blamed.
EXCLUSIVE: Idris and Sabrina Elba join EPA on Africa trip to combat climate issues
The Grio Editor’s note: Since the publication of this report, EPA Administrator Michael Regan has postponed his trip to Africa due to [Donald Trump’s visit to East Palestine and] Regan’s department’s emergency response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which has caused environmental concerns for its residents.
