It's been 11 months since a freight train derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, releasing thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals and creating an environmental crisis.
Rivers were polluted and hundreds of local residents complained of poor health.
The White House insists that President Joe Biden will visit the disaster site, but has yet to say when.
Now residents say that's just not good enough and their community is being ignored.
'I feel like I don't matter,' Jessica Conard, who voted for Biden in 2020 but said she was angry that the president has prioritized political swing states over people in need.
President Joe Biden arrived in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, for a vacation on Wednesday. The White House says he will visit eastern Palestine but has not yet set a date: 11 months after the crash
The debris from a Norfolk Southern freight train lies scattered and burning along the tracks
She was among the locals who took their grievances to the police New York Times.
Krissy Ferguson, who lives within a mile of the derailment, said, “I believe if we had been in a blue area, he would have come, and that hurts.”
In fact, her county voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2020 and no one thinks Ohio will be a winnable state for Biden next time around.
The White House insisted Biden still plans to visit.
“The President continues to oversee a robust recovery effort to support the people of Eastern Palestine, and he will visit when it is most helpful to the community,” White House spokesman Jeremy M. Edwards told the newspaper.
Frustrations have been running high in eastern Palestine, with a population of nearly 5,000, since the 150-car Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailed on Feb. 3. There were 700,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogen, on board.
Democrats say the problems stem from the deregulation of rail under Trump.
Conservative commentators quickly seized on the accident to accuse the Biden administration of neglecting working-class communities.
Trump brought the 2024 presidential campaign to town three weeks later. He reprized his role as champion of the forgotten, delivering pallets of his own branded water and throwing red MAGA hats at fans.
A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, after a controlled explosion of part of a derailed Norfolk Southern train to burn hazardous chemicals
Clean-up work can be seen here in March. Residents want to know why Biden still hasn't visited
Donald Trump took his 2024 campaign to East Palestine in February, handing out water and red MAGA hats while basking in the Biden administration's response
“Have fun, everyone,” Mr. Trump told them after signing autographs at a McDonald's where he bought Big Macs for first responders.
But he had a more serious point.
“What this community needs now is not excuses and all the other things you've heard, but answers and results,” he said, wearing one of his red hats over a black overcoat and brown boots.
Government officials insist they have taken action and deployed hundreds of officials to the scene to assess the risks to the environment and human health.
Biden signed an executive order in September to continue holding Norfolk Southern accountable.
“The president will go to East Palestine,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in September. “He promised he would, and he will.” She didn't say when
But critics want to know why he hasn't issued a disaster declaration that puts more federal money and resources into recovery efforts.
That's the real problem, Conard added.
“The fact that the president didn't come is disappointing,” she said. “But every day that Biden doesn't declare a state of emergency puts my community at risk.”
The president and his team have repeatedly deflected questions about a visit.
“I have not yet had the opportunity to go to East Palestine,” he said in September. “There's a lot going on here and I haven't been able to break through it.”
And his press secretary promised a visit.
“The president will go to East Palestine,” said Karine Jean-Pierre. “He promised he would, and he will.”