The toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is already setting the state for a hypothetical 2024 rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Though Biden has yet to announce his reelection campaign, first lady Jill Biden has stated he is committed to running, and "pretty much" all that remains is determining a time and place to launch.
TRUMP HAS A MESSAGE FOR BIDEN IN EAST PALESTINE: 'GET OVER HERE'
Trump was the first candidate to jump into the 2024 race back in November, just days after the 2022 midterm elections. While many Republicans are waiting to see what Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will do, Trump currently leads in a number of GOP primary polls and has been steadily ramping up his campaigning in 2023, culminating in a visit to East Palestine on Feb. 22.
Republican operatives, both supporters and critics of the former president, told the Washington Examiner that Trump's recent trip to Ohio, specifically to a county he won with more than 70% of the vote in the 2020 general election, is largely how he'll run the remainder of his campaign.
"Show up. Attack Biden. Play to the base," one operative surmised. "It's pretty much the same strategy he rolled out in 2020 but one that has much stronger legs, with Biden in office and inflation crushing middle-class households."
A second operative noted how Trump was claiming credit for part of the federal government's response to the derailment, specifically Biden's decision to send additional Federal Emergency Management Agency assets and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to the area after Trump announced his own trip.
"Biden and FEMA said they would not be sending federal aid to East Palestine. As soon as I announced that I’m going, he announced a team will go. Hopefully he will also be there," the former president wrote on Truth Social. "This is good news because we got them to 'move.' The people of East Palestine need help. I'll see you on Wednesday!"
Biden has yet to visit East Palestine, nor is his team actively discussing a trip in the future, White House officials say. Trump-supporting campaign veterans joked with the Washington Examiner that "no-show Joe" is trying to run another "basement campaign," a reference to his highly-virtual, COVID-focused 2020 effort, but three senior Democratic officials cast the situation in a different light.
In 2020, Biden positioned himself as Trump's foil on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the leader necessary for combating an unconventional enemy. This cycle, with COVID-19 largely in the rearview, the president again is flexing his uniter-in-chief chops by marshaling global opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
These Democrat officials believe that Biden's performance on the world stage, coupled with his numerous bipartisan legislative victories and shepherding of the party to better-than-expected results in the 2022 midterm elections, will shine through the "negative chatter" from Republicans.
"President Biden has been underestimated at every turn since entering office, but he keeps getting results," one official said. "The situation in East Palestine is no different, and voters can tell he's committed to the office and the American people, not stroking his own ego."
That isn't to say Biden has ignored East Palestine altogether, Democrats stress.
In addition to FEMA, Biden has deployed Department of Health and Human Services and Environmental Protection Agency officials to East Palestine to perform community health testing. Prior to Buttigieg arriving on Feb. 23, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell also spent time in the area. Regan and other EPA officials notably drank from the local water supply in an effort to show it had not been contaminated by the released vinyl chloride gas.
The Department of Transportation is also leading an investigation into Norfolk Southern, the company running the derailed train, and, coinciding with the release of the administration's preliminary report, Biden ordered Norfolk Southern to cover the full cost of the cleanup and toxic material disposal.
"This is common sense. This is their mess. They should clean it up," the president said flatly.
Furthermore, the White House announced Monday that federal officials "went door to door this weekend to personally check in on each family in East Palestine, provide flyers with additional resources, and conduct health surveys" at the direction of the president. In total, the administration had made contact with roughly 350 East Palestine households over the weekend and expect that number to exceed 400 by Monday, White House officials say.
Biden and allies have also continuously pointed to the Trump administration's deregulation agenda as partially responsible for the tragedy in Ohio.
"For years, elected officials, including the last admin, have limited our ability to implement and strengthen rail safety measures. Heck, many of the elected officials pointing fingers right now want to dismantle the EPA — the agency that is making sure this cleanup happens," Biden said in a statement. "Rail companies have spent millions of dollars to oppose commonsense safety regulations. And it’s worked. This is more than a train derailment or a toxic waste spill — it’s years of opposition to safety measures coming home to roost. We'll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first."
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Still, despite both Biden and Trump's current front-runner status, a rematch of the 2020 presidential election isn't a guarantee.
The most recent poll from PBS and Marist showed just 50% of Democrats and left-leaning independents believe Biden is the party's best choice for 2024, while a similar number of Republicans and right-leaning independents (54%) believe the GOP has a better chance of taking back the White House if someone other than Trump wins the nomination.