East Palestine mayor at RNC: Biden administration has been a ‘train wreck’

MILWAUKEE (WKBN) – East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway spoke at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

His speech focused on the train derailment that happened on February 3, 2023 and the Biden administration’s response in the months that followed.

He said the first responders didn’t hesitate — but the Biden administration did.

“And in the chaos, we witnessed a clear contrast between leadership and incompetence,” Conaway said.

He said for the longest time, the White House was silent and they never heard anything from Vice President Kamala Harris.

He said when Biden did show up, his visit was “brief, forced and scripted.”

“It consisted almost entirely of meetings and press events. They talked and talked, but they delivered little help,” he said.

“I guess we weren’t their type of folks. No Hollywood elites or Wall Street billionaires live in East Palestine. Just hardworking Americans.”

He said Donald Trump, in comparison, “cared.” When Trump visited East Palestine after the derailment, he asked how he could help.

“When he arrived with fresh pallets of drinking water, he met with everyone from first responders, to local officials and residents. He toured the derailment site. He listened to us and he shared a meal with volunteers at a local McDonald’s.”

Conaway said Trump’s presence was “genuine” and “real.”

“I know a thing or two about train wrecks now and let me tell you, that’s what the Biden administration has been,” Conaway said.

He said the country needs a leader who loves all Americans, who “values small-town communities as much as big cities.”

Conaway ended with his endorsement of Trump.

He has been the mayor of East Palestine since the train derailment.

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