(NewsNation) — Seven months after the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, President Joe Biden said he hasn’t “had the occasion” to visit the area. One resident says at this point, a presidential trip would be “pointless.”
During his travels to Florida to survey damage from Hurricane Idalia, Biden addressed why he has yet to visit East Palestine since the Feb. 3 train derailment.
“I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on here, and I just haven’t been able to break,” the president told reporters Saturday.
Resident Tammy Tsai thinks Biden’s response is “reprehensible.”
“He should’ve been here. He should be helping these people. He should learn how to say the name of the town,” Tsai told “NewsNation Prime” host Natasha Zouves.
Tsai and resident Jamie Wallace appear to agree that people throughout the community are losing hope and feeling abandoned by the federal government.
‘A lot of people are worse off mentally now than they were day one because we had faith in our government,” Wallace said. “We thought people would hear our cries, see that our needs are unmet, (see) sick children and we thought that we would have help by now.”
She continued: “I think at this point, it’s pointless for him (Biden) to come. Just give us the federal support that we need. You’ve already shown us how little you think of us. Coming now would just add to the insult.”
Biden said he thought of visiting East Palestine “this week,” but cited global travel plans as an interference.
“It’s going to be wild, but we’re making sure that East Palestine has what they need materially in order to deal with their problems,” Biden said.
Under the Biden administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have paid visits to the homes of residents impacted by the derailment. In the meantime, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has asked Biden to grant a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration multiple times.
“Currently, no unmet needs have been reported to the state. However, this is due to the voluntary actions of Norfolk Southern. The possibility remains that the voluntary support provided by Norfolk Southern could at some point in the future cease,” DeWine wrote the president in July. “This declaration is needed to ensure the state and federal government use all resources available to step in and provide the community with needed assistance.”
Since the derailment released hazardous materials into East Palestine, some residents have reported health problems and many are not trusting of assurance from government officials that the air and water is clean. As independent testing results are returned, NewsNation affiliate WKBN says the issue has morphed into a political controversy.
For Wallace, the issues plaguing East Palestine are not political.
“This is not a red issue. It’s not a blue issue. This is an issue of human lives. This could happen in any community where a train runs through. This could happen in your community, and it will happen again.”
WKBN contributed to this report.