Vice President JD Vance visited East Palestine, Ohio on Monday to commemorate the second anniversary of the toxic train derailment that polluted the small town in 2023. During his visit, which included a survey of the affected area alongside local officials, Vance pledged that the new Trump administration would complete the environmental cleanup long neglected under former President Joe Biden, helping to revitalize the town’s struggling economy.
“As a lot of you know, one of the first real crises that we confronted when I was United States senator for the great state of Ohio was the train derailment in East Palestine,” Vance said during a press conference. “And there are a few reasons why I want to come back, of course, on the second anniversary of the disaster. I think the first is just a signal to the people here in East Palestine that we will not forget you.”
VP @JDVance in East Palestine, OH on the 2nd anniversary of the train derailment:
"President Trump wanted to deliver a message that this community will not be forgotten, will not be left behind, and we're in it for the long haul… The environmental cleanup has to get done." pic.twitter.com/MjIYl0p0XA
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 3, 2025
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On February 3rd, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed on the outskirts of the small town near the Pennsylvania border, spilling more than 10,000 gallons of highly toxic vinyl chloride into the environment and causing significant damage to nearby properties. Several rail cars burned for two days straight, and first responders set off a secondary controlled burn to dispose of additional vinyl chloride to prevent other cars from exploding.
Toxic smoke from the crash site forced many of the town’s 5,000 residents to evacuate from their homes and also affected the nearby areas of Darlington Township and Beaver County. Concerns about the after-effects of this fire have lingered to this day.
“I talked to the President about this visit a couple of days ago. The President loves this community, of course, he visited himself personally,” Vance continued. “President Trump wanted to deliver a message that this community will not be forgotten, will not be left behind, and we’re in it for the long haul in East Palestine. People have to be confident that they can build a business here, raise a family here. That is going to take a long-term commitment, and that is something people should expect.”
Vance went on to say that it was a “tragedy and a shame” that the cleanup from the derailment had not been completed under the Biden administration, despite significant concerns about air and water quality in the aftermath of the crash.

“Is the water clean to drink? Is the air safe to breathe? That is what we were really worried about two years ago. Now, what we’re worried about is finishing this cleanup and getting this community back on the path of economic prosperity,” he said.
In the aftermath of the derailment, President Biden was resoundingly condemned for his failure to visit East Palestine, and he did not acknowledge that the disaster had taken place for two full weeks. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg only made the journey to the town once Donald Trump did so, and he used the opportunity to blame the former president for the crash. Buttigieg’s claims were later proven to be inaccurate.
Biden himself did not stop in East Palestine until a full year after the derailment. At the time, local residents derided the gesture as “too little, too late.”
“In my personal opinion the best time for him to come would be February of 2025 when he is on his book tour,” East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told Fox News at the time. “The President is always welcome to our town. That being said, I don’t know what he would do here now.”
In the years since the crash, town residents have continued to report health issues, despite assurances from officials that the air and water are safe. A new class action lawsuit has been filed against Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the train, alleging wrongful deaths and health complications linked to the chemical spill. The suit accuses the railroad and its contractors of mishandling the cleanup and failing to inform residents of health risks, while also citing ongoing health concerns among the affected community.
Attorney Kristina Baehr, representing approximately 750 individuals, emphasized the clients’ demand for transparency and accountability regarding their exposure to toxins. In addition to this lawsuit, at least nine others have been filed, criticizing the $600 million class-action settlement as insufficient in compensating victims or holding the railroad accountable.
Connor Walcott is the lead writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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