Buttigieg stayed waiting in the HALL while Giuliani speaks with the mayor of East Palestine

Pete Buttigieg had to wait his turn behind Rudy Giuliani to speak with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway on Thursday after postponing for 20 days a visit to the Ohio town plunged into chaos after a toxic train derailment earlier of this month.

While Giuliani was speaking with Mayor Conaway on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg waited in the hallway for at least 30 minutes.

Buttigieg’s staff were careful to ensure there was no friction between the secretary and Giuliani, a person present at the meeting told DailyMail.com.

Speaking from mayor to former mayor, Conaway said he is not focused on partisanship and is only interested in ensuring the safety of his constituents who have felt ignored by the Biden administration after a train accident in their small town.

Giuliani (left) met with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway (right) on Thursday, February 23 for nearly an hour to discuss crisis management after a train derailed and dumped hazardous materials into the community.

Buttigieg (pictured speaking Thursday) has finally visited East Palestine after weeks of criticism over the federal government’s lack of response to the 50-car train derailment earlier this month.

‘I am grateful to Mayor Giuliani for being here to help us. My top priority is ensuring the health and safety of the people of this city and our region,” Conaway said during his meeting, according to a Giuliani spokesperson.

“I will work with anyone who wants to help East Palestine, and their party affiliation is irrelevant to me,” Conaway added.

Giuliani also met with Rep. Bill Johnson, whose Ohio district includes eastern Palestine.

Donald Trump, to whom Giuliani was personal attorney while president, visited East Palestine on Wednesday, prompting several other visits, including from Buttigieg.

Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, criticized the government’s response to the train crash, which spewed hazardous materials into the air, land and water.

“I am increasingly concerned about the lack of response from our federal government to help the people of eastern Palestine,” Giuliani said. “I wanted to offer my knowledge and experience in crisis management and, more importantly, help the people here, who are our fellow Americans.”

Biden and Buttigieg faced a great deal of criticism for failing to personally go to East Palestine and largely ignoring the crisis for weeks.

Giuliani also inspected a stream behind the home of Courtney Miller, a resident of East Palestine.

In the photo, Courtney talks to Giuliani. The train wreck happened directly in her backyard.

Residents of the Ohio village told DailyMail.com they only think they are getting the attention they deserve from the administration because former President Trump visited them on Wednesday.

Trump said during remarks at the village fire station on Wednesday that he would “make time” to return to eastern Palestine if Biden and Buttigieg did not follow through on their promise to fix the problems plaguing the city after the release of chemicals. toxic.

Giuliani also promised Mayor Conaway to keep in touch as cleanup and remediation efforts continue, a person familiar with the conversation told DailyMail.com.

The former Trump attorney met with locals, including a resident named Courtney Miller, who showed Giuliani the damage to the creek behind her home.

“Courtney lives right next to where the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio,” Giuliani wrote in a tweet along with a video of her speaking with Miller.

“I’m here to offer my experience with crisis management, as I’m concerned about the slow response from the federal government,” he added, confidently: “We’re going to make sure Courtney, and everyone else here, gets the help they need. .

Trump on Wednesday brought pallets of his branded water bottles along with food and supplies to help the people of East Palestine.

He also bought the first responders a meal from McDonalds before returning to Florida.

Former President Donald Trump also visited eastern Palestine on Thursday, meeting with Mayor Conaway and Ohio Senator JD Vance.