President Trump on Thursday addressed the lethal midair collision simply outdoors Washington, D.C., as rescue crews looked for victims within the Potomac River and investigators labored to find out the reason for the crash.
In his first look within the White Home briefing room lower than two weeks because the begin of his second time period, Trump described the crash between an American Airways flight and an Military helicopter that killed greater than 60 individuals as a “tragedy of terrible proportions.”
However these remarks had been rapidly adopted by a slew of finger-pointing and assaults on Democratic initiatives over the course of a roughly 30-minute briefing with reporters.
Listed below are 5 takeaways.
Trump rapidly politicizes collision
Trump opened his remarks with a second of silence for the victims and by proclaiming how tragedies just like the aviation catastrophe deliver People collectively. However his solemn tone rapidly gave approach to political assaults.
He knocked his Democratic predecessors, claiming that they had lowered requirements in aviation security.
“I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first. And they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen, because this was the lowest level. Their policy was horrible, and their politics was even worse,” Trump mentioned.
He mentioned his first administration, following the Obama administration, arrange “extraordinary” requirements for individuals who work in aviation and air site visitors management, and he claimed former President Biden then “changed them back to lower than ever before.”
Trump additionally blasted Pete Buttigieg, who served as Transportation secretary throughout the Biden administration.
“He’s a disaster now. He’s just got a good line of bulls‑‑‑,” Trump mentioned.
Trump’s assaults on Democratic leaders had been a reminder that he usually doesn’t react to disasters in conventional methods, and his remarks had been in sharp distinction to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s vow that the Trump administration wouldn’t “pass the buck.”
DEI in crosshairs
The most important goal of Trump’s assaults on Thursday had been variety, fairness and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which the president repeatedly claimed had lowered security requirements at the same time as he acknowledged it was unclear who was at fault for the crash.
“Brilliant people have to be in those positions,” Trump mentioned.
He cited efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to rent people with disabilities, together with dwarfism, lacking limbs and mental disabilities.
“A group within the FAA determined that the workforce was too white, then they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately,” Trump mentioned. “This was in the Obama administration.”
Requested how he might come to the conclusion that variety performed a job within the lethal midair collision close to Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport, Trump mentioned, “Because I have common sense, OK? And unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”
He later defended his assertion that variety initiatives on the FAA might have contributed to the Nationwide Airport crash because the investigation continues.
“No, I don’t think so at all,” Trump mentioned when requested if he thinks his claims concerning the helicopter, air site visitors management and DEI insurance policies had been getting forward of the investigation. He quipped to the reporter that “I think that’s not a very smart question.”
Factors fingers at helicopter pilots
Trump pointed fingers on the three pilots of the Military’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the American Airways jet Wednesday night time. He mentioned the helicopter didn’t do what it was advised simply earlier than it crashed into the jet and that it was “a confluence of bad decisions that were made.”
“We had a situation where we had a helicopter that had the ability to stop. … You can stop a helicopter very quickly,” he mentioned. “The turn it made was not the correct turn, obviously, and it did somewhat the opposite of what it was told. We don’t know that would have been the difference, because the timing was so tight.”
The president added that the helicopter shouldn’t have been flying on the similar peak because the jet and famous there “was a lot of vision” Wednesday night time.
“You could have turned the helicopter substantially; you could have stopped the helicopter,” Trump mentioned. “For some reason, it just kept going and then made a slight turn at the very end, and by that time, it was too late.”
He additionally recommended the helicopter pilots utilizing night-vision goggles could have been a part of the difficulty with visibility. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, who joined Trump on the briefing, shared in a video earlier Thursday that the helicopter crew was “fairly experienced” and was “doing a required, annual night evaluation” with night-vision goggles.
“It may change your view plan if you do have the night vision,” Trump mentioned. “That would be maybe a reason why you wouldn’t actually see as well where on a clear night. You can sometimes see better without it.”
Trump names FAA appointee
Trump throughout the briefing introduced he would appoint an performing FAA administrator within the wake of the midair crash.
“I’m also immediately appointing an acting commissioner to the FAA: Christopher Rocheleau. A 22-year veteran of the agency, highly respected. Christopher, thank you very much, appreciate it,” Trump advised reporters within the White Home briefing room.
Rocheleau, who’s serving as FAA deputy administrator, was within the room for the announcement.
Former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker resigned on Trump’s Inauguration Day after he served for simply greater than a yr. Whitaker confronted strain to step down from prime Trump ally Elon Musk, who known as for him to resign following Whitaker’s feedback that SpaceX “launched without a permit,” in reference to 2 launches final yr in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The FAA administrator is a Senate-confirmed place, sworn in for a five-year time period. Whitaker was confirmed in October 2023.
No hesitancy to fly
Trump insisted People shouldn’t be hesitant to fly within the wake of Wednesday night time’s crash.
“No, not at all. I’m not hesitant to fly,” Trump mentioned.
“We have the safest flying anywhere in the world, and we’ll keep it that way,” he added.
Nationwide Airport reopened for flights at 11 a.m. EST Thursday within the wake of the tragedy, having closed for takeoffs and landings instantly after the collision.
Julia Mueller contributed.
