Fox News host Tucker Carlson called for Ohio and Pennsylvania Governors Mike DeWine and Josh Shapiro, respectively, and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's resignation for their involvement in the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical spill.
Carlson noted East Palestine's proximity to Pennsylvania's border during a Wednesday episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight and cited DeWine and Shapiro's decision to conduct a "controlled release" of chemicals from the derailed Norfolk Southern train. The Fox News host further detailed how the initial evacuation orders were lifted two days after the release was initiated.
"In the subsequent days, a lot of people have wondered out loud, was it really a wise decision to light thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride on fire, releasing a World War One-era bioweapon into the air over a populated area," Carlson said of the Ohio chemical burn.
"Was that a good call?"
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Carlson questioned the safety of residents returning to their homes shortly after the chemical release.
"If it was safe [to return], how do we know that?" asked Carlson, questioning if East Palestine and the surrounding areas were being monitored for chemical levels in air, ground, and water.
"The first duty of government is to protect its citizens," he said, referring to the response as a "failure at all levels."
The Fox News host suggested DeWine and Shapiro's decision to do a controlled release of the chemicals was "reckless" and made the disaster "much worse," further criticizing both Governors who blamed Norfolk Southern for proposing a "vent and burn" of the chemicals.
Carlson continued criticizing the Biden administration and Buttigieg for an apparent lack of acknowledgment of the disaster suggesting "they didn't even notice."
"It had nothing to do with equity or climate change," Carlson said of the chemical burn, noting East Palestine's voting demographic favored former President Trump and suggesting the Biden administration, therefore, didn't "care" about affected citizens. "That is an atrocity."
"The people whose indifference made it possible should lose their jobs beginning with Pete Buttigieg," he said, "and extending to Governors Josh Shapiro and Mike DeWine. They didn't care, and they got caught not caring."
DeWine previously said the Pennsylvania Governor and himself were "faced with two bad options" regarding the train derailment.
"It came back that the concern was that this would be catastrophic — what was described as a catastrophic explosion of the car, which would result in shrapnel going out up to — close to a mile," per the Post Millennial. "We also looked at what the danger was from a controlled release which is what the railroad felt should be done. We then made the decision to go ahead with the second option which was to control release."
Shapiro said the vent and burn operation went "as planned" and that "no concerning" readings were detected in air and water quality, ABC News reported.
