Most Americans saw nothing but tragedy in a massive train derailment that left at least three people dead and about 100 injured in Washington state on Monday. President Donald Trump saw an opportunity to be exploited for political gain.
“The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!” Trump tweeted shortly after the accident.
Hours later, he stated in a nationally televised speech that the wreck “is all the more reason why we must start immediately fixing the infrastructure of the United States.”
In fact, the train that crashed was on its inaugural trip after the Amtrak rail line had undergone $180 million in track upgrades, along with $58 million for the purchase of new locomotives dedicated to that line.
No evidence has suggested the track infrastructure was anything short of superb. The train was rounding a curve at 50 mph above the speed limit.
This is hardly the first time Trump has misled the public and sought to exploit tragedy for political gain. During the presidential campaign, he used the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco to justify his call for a border wall. A Dec. 11 bomb attack in a New York subway prompted an immediate White House call for a crackdown on illegal immigration, even though the attacker was in the country legally.
After an Oct. 31 terrorist attack on a New York bike path, Trump lashed out at the nation’s criminal justice system, denouncing it as “a joke” and “a laughingstock.”
He seized the opportunity to promote his “extreme vetting” immigration plan.
But when events don’t quite fit his political agenda, Trump is the picture of self-restraint. After the Oct. 1 attack in Las Vegas in which 58 people were killed by a lone gunman, Trump deflected questions about gun violence and declined to answer when asked if the attack constituted an act of domestic terrorism. Asked if stricter gun laws were needed, Trump stated on a visit to Las Vegas, “We’re not going to talk about that today.”
Trump actually is correct about the urgent need to address America’s failing infrastructure. But the $1 trillion he proposes to spend on upgrades has already been eaten up by the $1 trillion that the GOP tax plan will add to the exploding federal deficit. There simply isn’t additional budgetary wiggle room to accomplish what he wants.
Instead of making a good case on America’s infrastructure needs based on the facts, Trump has again undermined his own credibility — and inserted controversy where it didn’t belong.
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch