,

Trump Blames Who For The Crash?

On Thursday, former President Donald Trump suggested that diversity initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have compromised safety, following a midair collision near Reagan National Airport that left multiple people dead.

Speaking from the White House briefing room, Trump called the crash a “tragedy of terrible proportions” but quickly shifted to criticizing past administrations, specifically their hiring policies. He blamed efforts to diversify the FAA’s workforce, arguing that such initiatives have weakened the agency’s ability to ensure air safety.

“Brilliant people have to be in those positions,” Trump stated, pointing to FAA hiring policies that prioritized individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities. He claimed that during the Obama administration, a push was made to reduce the number of white employees in key FAA roles, saying, “They wanted to change the workforce immediately.”

Trump also took aim at Pete Buttigieg, who served as Transportation Secretary under President Biden. “He’s a disaster,” Trump said, accusing Buttigieg of mismanaging the department and prioritizing diversity efforts over competence.

In response, Buttigieg fired back in a statement on social platform X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable” and saying the Biden administration had prioritized safety by reducing near-miss incidents, expanding air traffic control, and maintaining a zero-fatality record for commercial airline crashes.

When asked how he could be certain that diversity efforts played a role in the Reagan National crash, despite acknowledging that air traffic controllers may not have made an error, Trump responded, “Because I have common sense.”

Since returning to office, Trump has aggressively moved to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the government. In just his first two weeks, he placed all federal employees working on DEI programs on administrative leave and urged private businesses to abandon diversity initiatives.

The crash involved an American Airlines flight carrying approximately 60 people, which collided with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during its approach to Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday night.

Other Trump administration officials echoed the president’s stance, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stating that the Pentagon would adopt a “colorblind” policy moving forward. Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that lowering hiring standards for the sake of diversity means “you don’t have the best people in key positions.”


Latest News »