A Daily Caller News Foundation reporter commented on the backlash following a Tuesday evening encounter with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg during a Thursday Newsmax appearance.
DCNF investigative reporter Jennie Tear encountered Buttigieg on the street, asking if he had any message for the people of East Palestine, Ohio, where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed Feb. 3, prompting evacuations and shelter-in-place orders as authorities moved to address the release of the chemicals. Buttigieg referred Taer to previous press statements, before taking a photo of her, which prompted a backlash from members of the press and politicians. (RELATED: ‘That’s Who You Voted For’: Joy Behar Says East Palestine Deserved Train Derailment For Supporting Trump)
“I had spotted him on the street while I was waiting outside my yoga class, and I jumped into reporter mode, that’s my job. When I see a member of the federal government, a cabinet secretary, I thought, ‘Hey. This is an important time for him to speak it in a public area.’ I saw it as appropriate,” Taer told “The National Report” co-host Emma Rechenberg.
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“Of course, I was very mindful that he had secret service around him and was respectful of that, they didn’t seem to feel the need to step in or anything, not really sure why he took the photos, and you are saying it was an intimidation tactic, possibly,” Taer continued. “If it was, I’m really not intimidated.”
Buttigieg visited East Palestine early Thursday morning, where he refused to say why he took Taer’s photo and demanded that a DCNF reporter turn off their camera.
Taer had no apologies for confronting Buttigieg, who has come under fire for his handling of the derailment, including for not discussing the derailment in public until posting a thread on Twitter on Feb. 13. That same day, Buttigieg expressed concern about the demographics of construction workers.
“This will have repercussions, potentially for years to come. These people don’t have answers as to what is going to happen to their health,” Taer said. “What’s going to happen to, you know, that agriculture business down there…anything that can be affected by these environmental impacts, it’s very concerning to them. So, again, I saw it fit to ask the secretary about this.”
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