28 Feb 2023

US correspondent Ximena Bustillo: the politics of disaster

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 28 February 2023
EAST PALESTINE, OH - FEBRUARY 14: Workers remove contaminated dirt near the railroad tracks on February 14, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio. A train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed on February 3, releasing toxic fumes and forcing evacuation of residents.   Angelo Merendino/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Angelo Merendino / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Photo: Angelo Merendino / Getty Images via AFP

It has been over three weeks since a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which led to massive environmental and health detriments to its residents.

President Biden has not yet made a trip to the town of nearly 4,000.

But former president Donald Trump, and 2024 presidential hopeful, has and he took no shortage of opportunities to accuse the sitting president of lack of care for rural America.

The latest NPR poll shows American voters lean in favour of raising the debt ceiling, but are divided on how to pay down the national debt.

Ximena Bustillo is an NPR politics reporter based in Washington.