In East Palestine, Ohio, third-party presidential candidates have made pit stops in their campaign schedules to pitch their stances on policy in the aftermath of a disastrous train derailment that released toxic chemicals into the environment in February 2023.
The incident has been a focal point for discussions on corporate accountability, governmental oversight, and the long-term health implications for affected communities, with the Biden administration criticized by many of the president’s 2024 challengers.
3rd-Party Candidates Make Their Bids to Voters in East Palestine
Amidst the ongoing concerns over environmental degradation and public health in East Palestine, third-party presidential candidates have seized the opportunity to engage directly with the affected community, offering their perspectives and solutions.Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a physician by profession, criticized the handling of the derailment’s aftermath during a town hall meeting in nearby Darlington, Pennsylvania, over the weekend.
Ms. Stein highlighted the disparity between Norfolk Southern Railway’s profits and the community’s suffering, stating that the railroad company and the government had failed the residents of East Palestine.
Similarly, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his grievances known in a visit early last week and in a segment on Fox News with town residents on Feb. 29, labeling the affected site a “crime scene” and advocating for criminal charges against Norfolk Southern.
Mr. Kennedy’s stance, articulated during the Fox News segment, pointed to a broader issue of failure at both the corporate and governmental levels.
His engagement in the community, alongside Ms. Stein’s, underscores a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo and a demand for more robust environmental and public health protections for the town’s residents.
Biden Criticism From Candidates
Both Ms. Stein and Mr. Kennedy haven’t shied away from critiquing the federal government’s response to the crisis.Ms. Stein, in particular, expressed disappointment in how President Joe Biden and environmental authorities addressed the disaster, suggesting that immediate and more comprehensive action was necessary to safeguard the community.
“On day one, the president can fix this. He can instruct the EPA to properly protect this community, and that means to move everybody out right now who is at risk and to make testing widely available for every household, for every person, so they can be informed and empowered,” she said over the weekend, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Mr. Kennedy’s criticism echoed this sentiment, framing the derailment and its fallout as indicative of a systemic failure to protect American citizens from corporate negligence.
