Far-right provocateur Charlie Kirk insisted on Tuesday that the train derailment that caused a toxic chemical scare in eastern Ohio proves the Biden administration is waging a “war against white people.”
Pointing to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s slow response to the crisis, Kirk, who also leads the MAGA youth group Turning Point USA, claimed on his podcast that this has all been part of an anti-white plan.
“So, why is it that they kind of shrug their shoulders and they say, yeah, okay, whatever? It’s very simple,” he exclaimed. “It’s because the war on white people continues. Why would you care for the white working-class voters in eastern Ohio? You haven't cared about them [for] other reasons or other portions.”
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Kirk then floated a hypothetical about a majority-minority city as evidence of his flimsy theory.
“I will prove it to you,” the pro-Trump pundit bellowed. “If this train derailment happened in downtown Atlanta in the densely populated Black neighborhoods, this would be the number one news story. It would be Flint water crisis 2.0. There would be clamoring and activism and talks for reparations.”
Kirk then brought up Buttigieg’s recent comments about the racial disparities in infrastructure and construction jobs, remarks that were quickly seized upon by right-wing media. The TPUSA founder said this proved he was correct to sound the alarm about a supposed Democratic hatred of white Americans.
“Buttigieg is out talking about how workers are too white,” he breathlessly declared. “For the last couple of years, I have been warning about this crusade against white people. And people shrug their shoulders, say, oh, Charlie, why does that matter?”
He concluded: “I could tell you why it matters—when there is a crisis now and the leaders hate working-class whites, they’re not going to scramble to save your life. They’ll lie to you and tell you to go back home while you’re poisoned.”
While not as overt as Kirk, several Fox News stars suggested on Tuesday that the White House has deliberately ignored the derailment for political reasons.
“The government comes in and says ‘It’s safe to move back?’ Is the reason is that, in East Palestine, 70 percent of them voted for Donald Trump, only 30 percent of them voted for Joe Biden? Is it politics at play here?” Fox Business host Sean Duffy asked.
Fox News commentator Lisa Marie Boothe, meanwhile, echoed that sentiment. “I can’t help but wonder: if this was happening in Ukraine, would the left care more? Would the media care more instead of a Trump county? Is that why this has been ignored for so long by most of the media?”
