In contemporary politics, if a “fact-checker” says something, it must be true. In this case, despite widespread leftists’ claims, that means former President Donald Trump cannot be blamed for the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Thus, Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post’s chief fact-checker, has spoken.
Kessler wrote on Monday that Trump “can’t be blamed” for the eastern Ohio environmental disaster.
“So far, Trump’s rollback of regulations can’t be blamed for Ohio train wreck,” Kessler noted.
“From our analysis, none of the regulatory changes made during the Trump administration at this point can be cited as contributing to the accident,” Kessler added.
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Liberals have tried to saddle Trump with the blame since they took an interest in the crash, which the Biden administration tried to ignore for almost three weeks.
As The Free Press reported last week, Andrew Bates, President Joe Biden’s deputy press secretary, told reporters, “Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes.”
Yet that claim was refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board, whose preliminary findings of the catastrophic Norfolk Southern freight train derailment attributed the crash to an overheated wheel bearing on one car.
In all, 38 cars, including 11 that carried hazardous materials, jumped the tracks.
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The Hill noted last week that, “Advocates of stricter rail safety regulations have specifically highlighted the Trump administration’s delay of a 2015 rule that would have required trains to be equipped with more modern pneumatic brakes.”
Yet, Biden’s own Transportation Department “has said the rule would not have prevented the East Palestine disaster,” the outlet added.
According to The Blaze, “Specifically, Kessler analyzed five regulation changes made under Trump: the revocation of a rule on electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, a rule that decreased brake inspections, a withdrawn proposal mandating at least two crew members on every train, a revised safety inspection rule for railroad tracks, and the deregulation of ethylene oxide.
Kessler rejected each in turn.
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In his column, he explained:
- ECP brakes: Kessler cited NSTB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy, who has said unequivocally that the ECP brake regulation would not have applied to the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
- Brake inspections: “There is no determination yet that the braking system played a role in the accident,” said Kessler.
- Two-member crew mandate: The 149-car derailed train had three crew members on board.
- Track inspections: Kessler reported, “The NTSB inspected the tracks, and the preliminary report makes no mention of any problems.”
- Ethylene oxide: “The rule concerned emissions by chemical plants, not the synthetic chemical released in the accident,” Kessler explained.
People also could have asked Trump.
When visiting East Palestine recently, the former president was asked about the regulation issue. “I had nothing to do with it,” he replied.
Besides Kessler, other “fact-checking” operations at USA Today and PolitiFact have reported Trump could not be at fault.
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