Bizarre moment Pete Buttigieg asks to take a PHOTO of the reporter during a street interview

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed during an interview at the precinct that he would be visiting the site of the Ohio rail disaster – and then asked if he could snap a photo of the reporter questioning him about it.

The strange encounter happened before it was reported Buttigieg will visit eastern Palestine on Thursday, 20 days after the first disaster. That came after Buttigieg just yesterday defended his response and said he wanted to make the trip if it could be an “action”.

Reporter Jennie Taer asked Buttigieg about the disaster and the government’s response after she identified herself as an employee of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

‘Buttigieg smiled when the reporter first asked him how he was doing. Then, as Buttigieg and husband Chasten walked briskly at night, the reporter asked him, “What do you have to say to the people of Ohio, Eastern Palestine, who are suffering right now?”

“Well I would refer you to about a dozen interviews I gave today and if you would like to arrange an interview please contact our press office,” Buttigieg replied.

Earlier Tuesday, he confirmed he would visit the city amid mounting pressure, 18 days after a train from Norfolk Southern derailed amid a massive chemical explosion.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked for a reporter’s photo after a brief interview while walking with husband Chasten

He hinted that he “wouldn’t have this conversation with you if you just walked down the street here.”

“You don’t have a message for her?” the reporter asked as the two walked and chatted in the Eastern Market neighborhood near the Capitol.

“I do and I have shared it with the press many times today and I refer you to those comments,” Buttigieg replied.

When the reporter pressed again, he declined, saying, “No, I’ll refer you to the comments I’ve made to the press because right now I’m taking some personal time and walking down the street.”

She asked if he would be visiting East Palestine, something he revealed earlier Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America.

After a pause, Buttigieg allowed, “Yes, I’m going,” but declined to give a time frame.

Then Buttigieg, who often represents the government in contentious interviews on Fox News and other outlets, asked the reporter, “Can I get a picture of you?”

The reporter agreed. you later posted a video of the encounter on twitter.

“I asked Secretary Buttigieg about the crisis in East Palestine and I don’t think he liked it, so he took a picture of me. Just doing my job sir,” she wrote.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the transport department for comment on the encounter.

News of Buttigieg’s decision to visit the city came on a day when former President Donald Trump was due to visit eastern Palestine.

A day earlier, he had defended the response, saying DOT personnel were “on site from day one” and he wanted the trip to be an “action” trip, not an image one, CBS reported. He also said he wanted to provide time to the National Transportation Safety Board.

“I followed the standard practice of transportation ministers for the first few days after an accident, to let the NTSB lead the safety work and stay out of their way,” he said. “But I’m very interested in having conversations with people in East Palestine about how this is affecting them.”

Buttigieg has called for higher maximum penalties for railroad safety violations but has yet to pay a visit to the small town still reeling from the aftermath of toxic chemical infiltration into the air, soil and water.

He wrote a letter Sunday to the President and CEO of Norfolk Southern, which owns and operates the derailed train carrying the dangerous material.

“Norfolk Southern must live up to its obligations to the people of East Palestine,” Buttigieg wrote in an Instagram post Monday, along with images of the letter.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport described the apparent trend reversal.

“As the secretary said, he would leave when appropriate and would not detract from emergency procedures. The secretary is leaving now that EPA has said it is exiting the emergency response phase and moving into the long-term remediation phase, adding that the visit “also coincides with the NTSB’s release of the actual findings of the investigation,” he told the Speaker, Reuters reported.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday morning that he would finally visit the site of the train derailment that released hazardous material into eastern Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month

The violent crash spewed toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and has caused nearby residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms. East Palestine was evacuated two days after the derailment

However, Biden did not visit East Palestine, Ohio, after a massive train derailment that released toxic chemicals into the community on Feb. 3

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk