Biden on East Palestine: “There’s a Lot Going On” — Six Months After Promising to Visit

When asked in late August 2023 why he had not visited East Palestine, Ohio, President Joe Biden offered a remarkably casual explanation: “I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on.” The statement came six months after Biden had promised to visit the small Ohio town “at some point” following a catastrophic train derailment that released toxic chemicals into the community. He had not said another word about the promise since making it, and the residents of East Palestine were still dealing with the aftermath of one of the worst environmental disasters in recent American history.

The contrast between Biden’s dismissive “there’s a lot going on” and the reality of what East Palestine residents were experiencing was stark. So was the contrast between his failure to find time for the devastated Ohio community and his frequent weekend trips to his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

The East Palestine Train Derailment

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a small town of approximately 4,700 people near the Pennsylvania border. The derailment involved approximately 50 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous chemicals such as vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether.

In the days following the derailment, officials conducted a “controlled release” of vinyl chloride from five tanker cars, creating a massive plume of toxic smoke that was visible for miles. The controlled burn was intended to prevent an uncontrolled explosion but raised serious concerns about air and water contamination in the surrounding area.

Residents reported dead fish in local creeks, unusual odors, and a range of health symptoms including headaches, nausea, and skin rashes. The Environmental Protection Agency identified chemicals in local waterways, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimated that approximately 3,500 fish were killed in streams near the derailment site.

The disaster drew national attention, in part because of the initially slow federal response. While local and state officials scrambled to address the contamination, the Biden administration was largely absent from the scene in the critical early days.

Trump Visited First

Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on February 22, 2023, less than three weeks after the derailment. Trump delivered bottled water and cleaning supplies, met with residents, and used the visit to criticize the Biden administration’s response to the disaster.

Trump’s visit put immediate political pressure on Biden, who had not visited and had not publicly addressed the disaster with any urgency. The optics were damaging: a former president had traveled to the disaster site to provide aid while the sitting president had not.

Biden did not visit East Palestine in February. He did not visit in March. He did not visit in April, May, June, or July. Instead, Biden traveled to Ukraine in late February 2023, making a surprise visit to Kyiv to demonstrate support for Ukraine’s war against Russia. The decision to travel to a foreign country while ignoring an American town dealing with a chemical disaster became a powerful symbol for Biden’s critics.

The Broken Promise

Under growing political pressure, Biden eventually acknowledged East Palestine and said he would visit “at some point.” The promise was vague by design, containing no timeline, no specific commitment, and no indication of urgency. It was the kind of statement designed to deflect criticism in the moment without creating an actual obligation.

Six months later, Biden had not fulfilled the promise. He had not visited East Palestine. He had not, by his own admission, even found “the occasion” to go. The promise had simply been abandoned, joining a growing list of commitments that Biden made under pressure and then allowed to fade from public attention.

When finally asked about it in late August 2023, Biden’s response was “I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on.” The phrase “there’s a lot going on” served as both an excuse and an inadvertent admission: the residents of East Palestine were simply not a priority for the president.

Beach Vacations vs. East Palestine

What made Biden’s excuse particularly galling to critics was his well-documented pattern of weekend travel during the same period. Biden made numerous trips to his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, throughout the spring and summer of 2023. Each trip involved significant logistical support, including Secret Service protection, Air Force transportation, and staff deployments.

The calculation was implicit: Biden had time to travel to Rehoboth Beach on a regular basis for personal recreation but could not find time to visit a community that had experienced one of the most significant environmental disasters in years. East Palestine is approximately 400 miles from Washington, D.C. Rehoboth Beach is approximately 120 miles. Neither distance presented an insurmountable logistical challenge for a president who had access to Marine One and Air Force One.

Biden’s critics noted that the president’s schedule is ultimately a reflection of his priorities. Every president faces competing demands on their time, but the choices a president makes about where to go and what to prioritize reveal what they consider important. Biden’s failure to visit East Palestine, combined with his regular beach vacations, sent a clear message about where the Ohio community ranked in his administration’s priorities.

The Federal Response

The Biden administration did deploy federal resources to East Palestine. The EPA established a presence in the community, conducted air and water monitoring, and ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for cleanup operations. FEMA provided assistance, and the Department of Health and Human Services deployed medical teams.

However, the federal response was criticized for being slow, inadequate, and poorly communicated. Residents complained that they were not receiving clear information about the health risks they faced. Some were told their water was safe to drink while still experiencing chemical odors. Others reported being told to return to their homes while still having health concerns.

The disconnect between the federal government’s assurances and the lived experience of East Palestine residents created a trust deficit that Biden’s failure to visit only deepened. A presidential visit would not have solved the contamination problem, but it would have demonstrated that the federal government took the community’s plight seriously.

Norfolk Southern’s Role

Norfolk Southern, the railroad company responsible for the train, faced intense scrutiny following the derailment. The company initially pledged $25 million in aid to the community, a figure critics noted was a fraction of the company’s annual profits. Norfolk Southern later committed to additional cleanup funding under pressure from the EPA and Congress.

The company’s CEO, Alan Shaw, was called to testify before Congress and faced bipartisan criticism for the company’s safety record and response to the disaster. Investigations revealed that Norfolk Southern had lobbied against enhanced rail safety regulations and that the train involved in the derailment was not classified as a “high-hazard flammable train” despite carrying significant quantities of hazardous materials.

The regulatory failures that contributed to the derailment spanned multiple administrations and highlighted the broader challenges of railroad safety oversight. However, the Biden administration bore particular responsibility for the federal response in the aftermath, and Biden’s personal absence from East Palestine became the most visible symbol of what critics characterized as indifference.

Biden Eventually Visited

Biden did not visit East Palestine until approximately one year after the derailment, in February 2024, during the presidential primary season. The visit came only after months of criticism and after the issue had become a recurring talking point for Republican candidates. By the time Biden arrived, the visit felt more like damage control for his re-election campaign than a genuine expression of concern for the community.

Residents who had spent a year dealing with contamination, health concerns, and uncertainty about their futures were not uniformly welcoming. Some expressed appreciation for the belated attention. Others noted that a presidential visit a year after the disaster did little to address the ongoing problems they faced.

”There’s a Lot Going On”

Biden’s August 2023 explanation for his absence encapsulated a pattern that characterized his presidency. When confronted with uncomfortable questions about his priorities or performance, Biden frequently offered brief, dismissive responses that acknowledged the question without taking responsibility.

“There’s a lot going on” was true in the sense that any president faces numerous competing demands. But it was also a remarkable thing to say to a community that had been living with toxic contamination for six months while their president had found time for regular beach vacations, foreign travel, and fundraising events.

The residents of East Palestine deserved better than a president who couldn’t find “the occasion” to visit them for six months and whose best explanation was that he was busy.

Key Takeaways

• Six months after promising to visit East Palestine, Ohio, following a catastrophic Norfolk Southern train derailment, Biden said “I haven’t had the occasion to go to East Palestine. There’s a lot going on.”
• The February 3, 2023, derailment released hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride into the community of approximately 4,700 people, killing thousands of fish and causing health concerns among residents.
• Former President Trump visited East Palestine less than three weeks after the derailment, while Biden did not visit until approximately one year later in February 2024.
• During the six months between his promise and his “there’s a lot going on” explanation, Biden made numerous trips to his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
• The incident became a symbol of the Biden administration’s perceived disconnect between its stated concerns about environmental justice and its actual priorities.