Just days after he was officially inaugurated as president, Donald Trump came under fire for his reaction to, and possible contribution to, the Potomac mid-air collision that left 67 people dead on January 29. In the wake of the tragedy, both investigators and politicians sought answers around the origins and cause of the plane crash, which occurred over the Potomac River when a passenger plane was heading to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
While the investigation — led by the National Transportation Safety Board — into the incident is still ongoing, Trump was among those to play the blame-game in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. Having been president for just over a week at the time, Trump laid the blame for the crash on Joe Biden, particularly making mention of his administration’s use of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hiring policies within the Federal Aviation Administration.
Donald Trump suggested DEI hires were responsible for the DC plane crash.
WOW. President Trump blames the crash on the failures of the Biden-Obama Regime because of DEI.
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) January 30, 2025
“The FAA states that those with severe psychiatric disabilities are under represented and should be employed…due to diversity…” pic.twitter.com/H0d9n4mz6s
During a White House press briefing in the aftermath of the DC aircraft collision, Donald Trump initially offered his condolences to the families of those who had died and made mention of the “hour of anguish” being felt across the country. However, the president quickly pivoted the press briefing to the cause of the crash, admitting that while the investigation had only just been launched, he and his administration had “some very strong opinions and ideas” about what led to the tragedy.
This led to Trump’s speculation, without evidence, that the DEI-hiring pushes of the previous Biden and Barack Obama administrations within the FAA had led to the crash. “Only the highest aptitude, the highest intellect, and psychologically superior people [should be] allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers,” Trump said. “I always felt that this was a job that had to have superior intelligence.”
Donald Trump signs a memorandum to try and blame Biden and DEI for the DCA plane crash is appalling.
— Art Candee
HIS policies to gut aviation safety put American lives in danger. pic.twitter.com/QjvppYOAn4
(@ArtCandee) January 30, 2025
In particular, Trump made mention of the FAA website before his inauguration, which — according to him — said that “people with severe disabilities are the most underrepresented segment of the workforce” and that the Biden administration “want[ed] them [to be] air traffic controllers.” When pushed by reporters as to the facts behind his implication that DEI hires had led to the crash, Trump said “they just might be” the cause, citing his own “common sense” as evidence. Later, a White House memo reiterated the previous administration has recruited “individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA” under diversity, equity and inclusion hiring, before multiple Trump allies doubled-down on that same message.
Trump’s own contribution to the DC plane crash was called into question.
Could DEI have played a big role in causing the crash?
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 30, 2025
Trump: Basically yeah pic.twitter.com/hAksTUxMcN
While he seemingly laid blame on DEI hiring policies, Trump’s own role in the DC plane crash was quickly floated on social media. Just days after his inauguration, Trump fired all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which provides advice on aviation safety. This led some to lay blame for the tragedy on the Trump administration, though some experts have claimed that the changes he made to aviation agencies came into effect too soon before the crash to have caused it.
In any case, Trump has more recently (as of February 18) begun firing hundreds of FAA employees. 400 workers within the agency were let go, however the administration claims it retained any employee “who perform[s] critical safety functions,” like air traffic controllers. The National Transportation Safety Board said it will take more than a year to get to their final investigative report into the cause of the crash, and that the team involved still “have a lot of work to do.”
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By: Tom Disalvo
Title: Did Donald Trump actually blame DEI for the DC plane crash? His lack of accountability, explained
Sourced From: wegotthiscovered.com/politics/did-donald-trump-actually-blame-dei-for-the-dc-plane-crash-his-lack-of-accountability-explained/
Published Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:08 +0000
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