A senior Trump official discloses the visit that determined the path to the election win.

The day President-elect Donald Trump visited Columbiana County, Ohio, to inspect the East Palestine train derailment was the turning point for the campaign, according to a top Team Trump official.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director-designate, stated on X, formerly Twitter, that the ripples from that day are not given enough attention, as per an op-ed.

In February 2023, a train carrying hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, derailed near the Pennsylvania border, causing immediate chaos and lasting damage to the region.

The release of toxic phosgene into the air occurred following a controlled burn held after the derailment.

On February 23, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, hosted Trump at a site where the former and future president highlighted Americans "forgotten" by President Joe Biden, who had not yet shown up and would not visit for several more months.

The Republican tycoon distributed "Trump"-labeled water and conferred with local authorities. Simultaneously, officials in Ohio and Pennsylvania were actively striving to keep the railroad responsible.

In his tweet, Cheung addressed an op-ed by Selina Zito, a Washington Examiner writer from Pittsburgh, who wrote about the crisis at the time.

The 2022 midterm losses and the close presidential primary race with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis marked a political nadir for the Republican Party, which was exacerbated by Trump's arrival.

In a tweet, she revealed that it was Vance, her potential running mate, who led her to the site.

Trump's message of "you are not forgotten" resonated with Rust Belt residents who felt overlooked by Washington, according to Zito, citing a local resident who said she changed her political affiliation due to Trump's direct approach to addressing their concerns.

The woman, who owns an East Palestine farm, stated that she has voted for him in every election since then.

Trump stated that "your goodness and perseverance were often met with indifference and betrayal."

The difference in Trump's eagerness to visit East Palestine and Biden's reluctance to do so contributed to Trump's advantage, according to the column.

"100%," Cheung wrote in his tweet.

Mike Pence, Trump's former running mate, criticized Biden in the past, labeling him "AWOL" and stating that Biden's policies had negatively impacted the economy of East Palestine before the train derailment.

On the Pennsylvania side of the line, both Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and his former gubernatorial opponent, Senator Doug Mastriano, responded promptly to the derailment.

At the time, Shapiro submitted a criminal referral, and Mastriano presided over hearings with residents affected by the Ohio border. Notably, Norfolk-Southern CEO Alan Shaw did not appear.

According to state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., who spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital, it is disheartening to hear about the alleged delays and botched response approaches that took place in the aftermath of the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and areas in his district in Pennsylvania, which have been dealing with the aftermath for over a year now. The whistleblower had spoken out about alleged mistakes from Biden's EPA response, which the agency disputed.