Buttigieg allies 'exasperated' by criticism over response to Ohio train disaster: Report
One anonymous Buttigieg ally complained, 'Pete Buttigieg has taken a lot of bullets for the president on this'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to a Politico report, senior Democratic Party officials and allies of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are "exasperated" by the pressure Republicans have put on him to contain the train derailment crisis in East Palestine, Ohio.
According to his allies, who have chosen to remain anonymous for the report, Buttigieg is "taking an unfair pounding over the disaster."
They also claimed that conservatives are using the Ohio incident as a "political weapon" against the federal official.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg admits during a press conference that he waited too long to make a public statement on the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (WKBN)
The cabinet secretary and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has endured harsh criticism for waiting too long to speak publicly on the disaster, a fact he admitted to Thursday while visiting the afflicted East Ohio town.
He has also been hit for waiting nearly three weeks to visit the derailment site, something former President Trump beat him to on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Politico piece, published Thursday morning, framed the Buttigieg situation as though he was the unfortunate victim of mistreatment for something he cannot control.
It opened, stating, "This month’s toxic derailment in a small Ohio village has put Pete Buttigieg under pressure like never before — leaving him scrambling to contain a public health and transportation crisis only partially under his purview while absorbing the brunt of attacks from the Biden administration’s adversaries."
It then mentioned that the attacks have begun to crack even Buttigieg’s usually smooth veneer. The report noted, "Publicly and privately, signs are growing that the Transportation secretary’s usual Eagle Scout patience is giving way to frustration."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is once again in the national spotlight over his delay in visiting the site of a train derailment in Ohio. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Noting some of the tense incidents Buttigieg has faced since the derailment, including journalists asking him questions, Politico stated, "He has gotten into Twitter spats with U.S. senators. His curt brush-off of a Daily Caller reporter who ambushed him during a walk turned into a viral video that has drawn more than 3 million views since Tuesday night."
The Daily Caller Incident Politico mentioned involved Buttigieg refusing to answer reporter Jennie Taer’s questions about his handling of the Ohio crisis and ended with him snapping a photo of the journalist for an undisclosed purpose.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The piece added, "And on Wednesday, Buttigieg’s allies were complaining that he’s taking an unfair pounding over the disaster — all because of his perceived ambitions as a one-time and future presidential hopeful."
One of these allies told the outlet, "Pete Buttigieg has taken a lot of bullets for the president on this."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Politico then characterized the derailment crisis as "his most serious test yet as leader of the sprawling Department of Transportation." It also claimed, "Conservative media outlets have used images of the Feb. 3 wreck — including the flames, plumes of black smoke and piles of dead fish — to lambaste his oversight of rail safety."
Another anonymous Democrat told the outlet that conservative media’s use of the crisis "as a political weapon is both enraging and demeaning."
An undated aerial view of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (NTSB)