It hasn’t even been 24 hours since a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter in Washington, D.C., and President Donald J. Trump is already pointing fingers.
At Around 9 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 29) night, an U.S. army helicopter collided with an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people, according to CBS News. Footage of the crash shows the Black Hawk helicopter flying directly into the plane, but the exact cause of the crash is still being investigated.
But don’t fret! It seems like the president knows the real cause of the crash. During a press conference, he flat out blamed DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and the Biden Administration for the disaster. “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now,” the president began.
“The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative,” he said. And because of it, Trump claimed DEI caused a lowering of standards for FAA employees, leading to last night’s crash.
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” he continued. “Only the highest aptitude – you have to be the highest intellect – and psychologically superior people, were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.”
In response to Trump’s theories, several have spoken out and called his claims baseless. Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett tweeted “While emergency responders are still recovering peoples’ loved ones from the freezing water, Trump is using these families’ pain for POLITICS by blaming their deaths on DEI.”
She continued calling this “a total failure of leadership.” Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, was sworn into his position on Tuesday (Jan. 28), according to AP News.
During the press conference, Trump defended Duffy saying “Our new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy — his second day on the job when that happened. That’s a rough one.” He continued with “Great gentleman. Just started. It’s not your fault.”
Others on X responded to Trump blaming DEI in confusion. User @esjesjesj noted how Trump has already banned DEI in the government. “Trump and Elon have been gutting the FAA and have already said they ended DEI but now that they caused a plane crash they’re back to blaming black and gay people,” they wrote.
Another user, encouraged the president to wait until the investigation unfolds more before jumping to insane conclusions. “He [Trump] always sounds like the kid doing a book report that didn’t read the book and just bsing through it,” @NateKosak wrote.
Among the victims are participants of the US Figure Skating Championship and three military officials, according to The Independent, making it the deadliest American plane crash in over two decades.
Authorities have since announced they’ve switched from a rescue operation to a recovery operation as they don’t believe there are any survivors. So far, 27 bodies have been recovered, according to CBS.