During an interview this past weekend on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg was critical of former President Donald Trump for falling short on what the current Cabinet member called a “human level.” Buttigieg was referring specifically to Trump having publicly ignored the recent bridge collapse in Maryland, which killed six people.
“Just at a human level it would be helpful for the former president to weigh in here and show the solidarity that we’ve seen from most, if not all, elected officials on either side of the aisle because of the human nature of what happened, the fact that you had these six people who lost their lives — a seventh, very seriously injured — who were out there doing the work that all of us count on but don’t always think about,” Buttigieg said on MSNBC.
Trump’s reaction — well, lack of reaction — to the incident in Maryland contrasts in dramatic terms with how he attempted to essentially commandeer a train derailment in Ohio in 2023 that threatened local residents with dangerous chemicals that were onboard the wrecked train. Trump eventually even showed up at the site, though it didn’t appear that he’d undertaken anything similar when trains derailed at various locations around the country when he was actually in office as president, creating the impression of the ex-commander-in-chief and Republicans’ presumptive pick for president this year just trying to get something politically beneficial out of the incident.
Though Trump didn’t involve himself, others on the Right did take an outspoken approach around the Maryland collapse, clamoring against Buttigieg — though the incident appeared per early details to be a freak accident — and/or spreading conspiracy theories, which the Transportation Secretary also addressed in interviews. “What’s really upsetting, of course, is that when misinformation or disinformation circulates, that is not without victims,” Buttigieg said on CNN. “Remember, this is a human tragedy. Six people lost their lives.… And we, as a department, need good factual information about how this happens.”
