‘Trump Water’ delivered by Donald himself to ‘abandoned’ Ohio town after train derailment

Donald Trump distributed bottles of “Trump Water” during a visit to the Ohio town affected by a chemical train derailment, as he accused the federal government of abandoning residents.

The former president handed out supplies on Wednesday alongside Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio, who has led the backlash to the White House's alleged lack of response to the disaster since the Feb 3 derailment.

Joe Biden’s administration has said the derailment in East Palestine does not meet the legal requirements for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declaration.

In a speech, Mr Trump said: “We’re bringing thousands of bottles of water - Trump Water, actually. Most of it. Some of it we had to go to a much lesser quality water, you want to get those Trump bottles.

"We're standing in America… your goodness and perseverance are met with indifference and betrayal in some cases," he said. "What this community needs now are not excuses… but answers and results."

Footage shared online showed members of Mr Trump’s team delivering the aid.

Hundreds of residents of the town of 4,700 lined the streets waving Make America Great Again flags and chanting “no more Joe” to greet Mr Trump after he landed in his Trump Force One jet.

A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed earlier this month and released large amounts of toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground, forcing evacuations as residents feared for their health.

State and federal officials said tests so far have shown that East Palestine’s air and water are safe, but the accident forced temporary evacuations and left many residents fearful as some complained of headaches and nausea.

Pete Buttigieg, the Transport Secretary, has said he will visit the site - next to the border with Pennsylvania - on Thursday.

Republicans have accused Mr Biden and the Democratic Party of ignoring East Palestine, which Mr Trump carried by 40 percentage points in the 2020 election, decrying the president’s visit to Ukraine and Poland.

Trent Conaway, East Palestine’s mayor, said he is “furious” that Mr Biden chose to visit Kyiv this week before coming to Ohio, calling the decision a “slap in the face”.

The White House hit back on Wednesday, blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for undoing Barack Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert such disasters.

“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections, as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” said Andrew Bates, the White House spokesman, in a statement.

Mr Bates said GOP members of Congress “laid the groundwork” for the Trump administration to tear up requirements for more effective train breaks and accused House Republicans of wanting to “defund our ability to protect drinking water”.

Republicans have pointed to the train wreck’s aftermath to advance their broader case that Democrats have neglected the concerns of many Americans, particularly in white, rural communities like East Palestine.

Mr Trump beat Mr Biden by eight points in Ohio in 2020. He helped turn the one-time swing state more reliably red in 2016 while arguing that Democrats and the political establishment had failed its working-class voters.