Trump blasts Biden for choosing Ukraine on President's Day over Ohio: 'They were abandoned'

Former President Donald Trump on Monday blasted Joe Biden for spending President's Day with Ukrainians rather than the victims of a devastating train wreck in Ohio, suggesting it sent a powerful message of neglect to voters in a key election battleground state.

"Those are great people, and they were abandoned," Trump said in a wide-ranging interview set to air on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show on Real Americas's Voice on Monday evening.

Biden has yet to visit the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, more than two weeks after a train derailed, caught fire and spewed toxic chemicals into the environment, killing animals and fish and raising worries about contamination of air and drinking water.

The Biden team belatedly dispatched the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but has rejected making a disaster declaration.

Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, will be visiting Ohio on Wednesday, and suggested Monday his announcement prompted the Biden administration to kick into gear after a slow response that has drawn bipartisan derision.   

"I think it's very sad," the 45th president told Just the News. "And I'll be going, as you know, I'll be spending some time in Ohio, where [Biden] should be. And frankly, FEMA should have been there a long time ago, I announced that I was going, and all of a sudden people sending a lot of money now, and they weren't going to send anything.

"So I'm honored by that. But I'll be there on Wednesday. And I look forward to that. Those are great people, and they were abandoned. But now, I think they won't be abandoned any longer."

Trump also discussed why he changed his mind and will engage Republican early-voting and absentee efforts, why he thinks he is gaining in the polls against Ron DeSantis and what qualities he will be looking for in a running mate in 2024.

To watch the full interview, tune in at 6 p.m. ET to "Just the News, No Noise" on Real America's Voice on the Roku app, the Just the News app, channel 219 on Dish Network and channel 240 on Pluto TV.