Train Catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio - Is Trump to Blame?

The small town of East Palestine, Ohio was rocked by a train catastrophe last week that left the community reeling. While some have been quick to blame Democratic candidates Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden for the disaster, the truth may be more complicated than it appears. In fact, it may be President Donald Trump who is responsible for this tragedy. In 2015, President Obama issued an executive order requiring trains carrying hazardous flammable materials to have electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes installed. These brakes are designed to reduce the risk of derailment and other accidents involving these types of trains. However, in 2017 President Trump rescinded this requirement as part of his deregulation agenda. As a result, many trains now lack ECP brakes and are at greater risk of catastrophic accidents such as what occurred in East Palestine last week. The exact cause of the accident has yet to be determined but experts agree that if Obama's regulation had not been repealed then this tragedy could have been avoided or at least minimized. This is why some are pointing fingers at President Trump instead of Buttigieg or Biden who had nothing to do with the incident whatsoever. It's possible that without ECP brakes on board, the train simply could not handle its cargo load safely and derailed due to excessive speed or another factor related to its braking system. At this point it remains unclear whether or not Trump will face any consequences for his role in rescinding Obama's regulation which ultimately put citizens like those living in East Palestine at risk from potential disasters like this one. All we can do now is wait for investigators to determine exactly what happened and hope that similar tragedies can be prevented in the future through better safety regulations and oversight from our government officials.