Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be triggered by claims that he only visited the site of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, because former President Donald Trump did it first.

Buttigieg spoke at length on a number of topics with CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, but the topic still drawing the most oxygen is the East Palestine derailment — and while the former mayor conceded a few mistakes, he argued that most of critics were not being fair to him.

Admitting that he should probably have gone to the site of the derailment — which was followed by a massive crash, a toxic chemical spill, and a failed attempt at a controlled burn — much earlier than he did (weeks after the initial crash), Buttigieg bristled at the idea that he was somehow goaded into making an appearance only after Trump showed up with trucks filled with clean drinking water and other supplies.

“That’s bulls***,” Buttigieg said. “We were already going to go.”

Buttigieg called Trump’s visit “somewhat maddening – to see someone who did a lot try to gut not just rail safety regulations, but the EPA, which is the number one thing standing between that community and a total loss of accountability for Norfolk Southern and then show up giving out bottled water and campaign swag?”

Buttigieg also responded to criticisms aimed at his footwear — calling those complaints “maddening” as well.

Serious question – does @SecretaryPete think these are work boots? pic.twitter.com/ldp08TiEwW

— Abigail Marone 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) February 23, 2023

“Who cares what shoes I was wearing, when I was there to draw attention to an agenda that will save lives on our railroads?” he asked.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, went on to lash out at his critics — suggesting that they were the ones who were out of touch.

“It’s really rich to see some of these folks – the former president, these Fox hosts – who are literally lifelong card-carrying members of the East Coast elite, whose top economic policy priority has always been tax cuts for the wealthy, and who wouldn’t know their way around a T.J. Maxx if their life depended on it, to be presenting themselves as if they genuinely care about the forgotten middle of the country,” Buttigieg complained. “You think Tucker Carlson knows the difference between a T.J. Maxx and a Kohl’s?”

Alana Thompson, also known as “Honey Boo Boo” from the TV show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” was involved in a three-mile car chase in Monroe County, Georgia, last Tuesday, according to the Monroe County Reporter. 

The 17-year-old was a passenger in the Dodge Charger that her boyfriend was reportedly driving. At 4:30 p.m., police ran the tags and discovered the owner of the vehicle had a warrant. When the officer tried to make a traffic stop, the driver fled, according to the outlet. 

The car chase lasted nearly three miles until the officer used a precision immobilization technique (PIT) to spin and disable the vehicle. Thompson’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Dralin Carswell, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, fleeing police, and outstanding warrants, according to People. He also received a speeding ticket. Thompson was not charged and will reportedly be a witness.

Julian Malik Divon Williams, 24, another passenger, was arrested on outstanding warrants.

Carswell was reportedly released on a $25,000 bond after spending two days in jail. He was initially wanted on a misdemeanor traffic charge, according to WFTV-9. Officers also reportedly found marijuana in the vehicle. 

Thompson and Carswell have been dating for more than two years. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she addressed criticism surrounding the couple’s age gap, saying, “In our relationship, the two most things that everybody is always talking about is our age gap and definitely because he’s black and I’m white and we’re an interracial couple. I don’t care because, at the end of the day, my sister approves, his mom approves, and we’re happy, so what fans got to say or what haters got to say I don’t really care.”

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This is Thompson’s first public relationship, according to Fox News. Both Thompson and Carswell were planning on having weight loss surgery last August, The Daily Wire previously reported. 

In the past, she spoke with fans about trying to lose weight naturally but had been unsuccessful. Thompson’s guardian and half-sister, Pumpkin (Lauryn Efird), gave permission for the teen to get the procedure. She was awarded custody of her younger sibling after their mother was arrested in 2019 for drug possession.

Amanda Harding contributed to this report.