Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, in a file photo. MARTIN DIVISEK | EFE
Former President Trump campaigns with his visit to the derailment zone in Ohio warning of the abandonment of the Biden Administration
23 feb 2023 . Updated at 9:27 p.m.
Donald Trump steps on the accelerator in his race for the Republican nomination. On Wednesday, the former US president traveled to East Palestine (Ohio) the town most affected by the Norfolk Southern company train derailment on February 3 that was transporting dangerous substances. Previously, he stated that the inhabitants of East Palestine were “abandoned” by the Biden Administration. On Wednesday Trump elaborated on the idea of abandonment: “This is America. Unfortunately, as you know, in too many cases your kindness and perseverance have been met with indifference and betrayal.”
The day before, Joe Biden, from Europe, addressed the residents of East Palestine via Twitter. “We’ve got you covered,” the president said. Biden took the opportunity to launch an attack on Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, blaming them for the state of the railway infrastructure. “For years elected officials – including the last administration – have limited our ability to implement and strengthen rail safety measures,” Biden wrote.
From East Palestine, Donald Trump did not hesitate to describe the Biden’s trip to Poland and Ukraine as a “holiday weekend”. The former president thus joined other criticism leveled against the current US president from the Republican Party, which accuses Joe Biden of prioritizing the war in Ukraine to the detriment of the situation in Ohio.
Trump’s main obstacle
Despite the efforts of former President Trump, the obstacles to his candidacy could continue to mount in the coming months. on Wednesday The New York Times revealed that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have been subpoenaed to testify as witnesses before a federal grand jury about Trump’s attempts to stay in power after losing the election. The decision of special prosecutor Jack Smith – also in charge of the investigation related to the discovery of classified documents in the possession of the former president – to subpoena the Kushner-Trump couple to testify comes after the prosecutor did the same with former vice president Mike Pence at the beginning of month. Both Ivanka Trump, daughter of the former president, and her husband were part of Donald Trump’s team during his presidency as advisers. Ivanka herself declared in November that she would stay out of her father’s candidacy on this occasion.
The events of January 6, 2021, when a crowd cheered on by Trump forced their way into the Capitolthey could still be the politician’s main headache until the 2024 elections. In a move that could seek to hurt Trump as much as strengthen himself, news broke on Wednesday that the House Speaker for the Republicans, Kevin McCarthy would give access to Fox News host Tucker Carlson to the security recordings of the day of the storming the capitol. According to McCarthy himself, the access also responds to the commitments that he acquired during the negotiations prior to being elected spokesperson. “I promised,” the politician declared to The New York Times.
Fox News, where Carlson hosts his own show, is part of the News Corp group owned by the Australian tycoon Rupert Murdoch. The News Corp media, once a major supporter of Trump (both in his previous election campaign and during his presidency), has been especially harsh in its coverage of tycoon Trump in recent months, and with greater intensity since the mid-term elections in November.