Pete Buttigieg’s boots at East Palestine, Ohio train derailment

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg showed off a pair of shiny brown boots while in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday — earning the derision of Republicans on social media.

The 41-year-old Buttigieg stomped around in form-fitting pants and leather dress boots as he surveyed the damage from the Feb. 3 train derailment and toxic chemical spill that shook the village near the Pennsylvania state line.

“Lol are those dress shoes?” asked Abigail Marone, a spokeswoman for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in response to a mocking image that showed Buttigieg wearing the boots as well as a vest with a photoshopped Carhartt logo.

“Serious question,” added Marone, posting a picture of the purported footwear, “does @SecretaryPete think these are work boots?”

Townhall senior editor Matt Vespa responded that the cabinet member was wearing “the most durable disaster gear … compliments of Brooks Brothers.”

“Is he wearing… dress shoes?” Jake Schneider, a rapid response director at the Republican National Committee, also asked.

“Not shocked at all by Mayor Pete wearing dress shoes to East Palestine,” said Tom Evans, a deputy press secretary for the Ohio Senate Republican Caucus.

Other social media users speculated Buttigieg had donned a pair of expensive Berluti boots for his trip to the Midwest.

“The Secretary was wearing boots,” a Department of Transportation spokesperson told The Post, before adding: “I would like to point you instead to the three pronged plan he put out recently to increase rail safety and accountability which is probably of more interest to the residents of East Palestine and any community with a rail line running through it right now.”

Buttigieg faced backlash for waiting almost three weeks to visit East Palestine following the derailment after saying Tuesday he would only go there “when the time is right.” He also was accused of downplaying the severity of the crash last week when he told an interviewer “there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing.”

The secretary and his press team lashed out at reporters this week for repeatedly questioning his decision to avoid the toxic site.

When confronted while on a walk with his husband Tuesday night in Washington, Buttigieg refused to speak with a Daily Caller reporter about the derailment because he was “taking some personal time.” He then inexplicably asked to take a picture of the journalist.

His press secretary similarly snapped at another reporter who accosted her boss in East Palestine on Thursday, claiming it was “aggressive” to film her response to questions on camera.