Pete Buttigieg REFUSES To Answer Questions About Ohio Train Derailment After Facing Backlash For Not Visiting State
Feb. 22 2023, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg lashed out at a reporter, telling her he was on "personal time" after she questioned his response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Buttigieg, 41, has been ridiculed for his office's response in the wake of the Norfolk Southern derailment on February 3, which led to a controlled release of toxic chemicals.
On Tuesday, Buttigieg announced he would make a trip to East Palestine to see the destruction for himself — but only "when the time is right."
Later that evening, following Buttigieg's announcement, Daily Caller reporter Jennie Taer attempted to question him on the delayed trip.
Taer shared the 46-second clip of her brief interaction with Buttigieg on Twitter — and the former presidential hopeful had an unbecoming reaction to her line of questions.
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In the clip, Taer identified herself as a reporter and asked the transportation secretary if he had a comment for the residents of East Palestine.
"What do you have to say to the folks in Ohio, East Palestine, who are suffering right now?" Taer asked Buttigieg.
Walking alongside his husband, Buttigieg refused to answer the reporter's question, referring to multiple interviews he gave earlier that day.
"I’d refer you to about a dozen interviews I’ve given today, and if you’d like to arrange a conversation, make sure to reach out to our press office," Buttigieg begrudgingly replied. "I'd love to have that conversation with you."
Taer repeated her question to Buttigieg, asking once again if he had a statement for Ohio residents.
"Do you have a message for them?" Taer asked once again to Buttigieg, who appeared to be increasingly annoyed with the reporter.
"I do and I shared that with the press many times today. I refer you to those comments," Buttigieg quipped back without giving a comment to Ohioans.
The reporter relentlessly asked if Buttigieg would share his "message" with her.
"No. I’m going to refer you to the comments I made to the press because right now I’m taking some personal time and I’m walking down the street," Buttigieg fired back.
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Taer sounded taken aback by his "personal time" answer — and she reframed her next question by asking Buttigieg when he planned to make the trip to Ohio, to which he responded that he would share "when I'm ready."
As the bizarre interaction continued, Buttigieg stopped in his tracks and asked if he could take a photo of Taer.
"I guess he didn’t like that so he took a pic of me. Im [sic] just doing my job, sir," Taer wrote on Twitter alongside the video clip.
