President Donald Trump said on Thursday that without citing evidence, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative for the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Controllers under the Democratic President was a tragic one in Washington on Wednesday night. He claimed that this was due to the collision between the plane and the helicopter. .
An air disaster occurred as an American Airlines passenger jet approaching Reagan Washington National Airport collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter on a daily training flight.
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“Obama, Biden and Democrats put their safety first, their policies first, and they put politics at a level no one has ever seen,” Trump told reporters at the White House briefing room. Ta. What happened is just going on.
This is the first major commercial airline collision in the United States since 2009, when 50 people died after a plane crashed while landing near Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
“I had to say it was terrible,” he said. He quoted what he called a story about a group within the FAA. Also, this was in the Obama administration just before I got there.
Trump then signed the executive order later Thursday, appointing FAA 22-year veteran Christopher Rochereau as the agent for the agency he said he would do at the briefing. He then signed a second executive order “to cancel all that damage” caused by the “Biden administration's DEI and awakened policies.”
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“We want the most capable people. We don't care what kind of race they are,” the president said. “If they don't have big brains, big brain powers, they're not very good at what they do and bad things will happen.”
When asked at an earlier briefing by ABC News Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce, Trump said, “We've said the crash was the result of diversity employment.” We don't know.” . “It could have been just a coincidence. We have high standards. We had much higher standards than anyone else.”
He blames air traffic controllers who communicated with the helicopter, saying that the Army helicopter crew could be negligent even if they made an unfounded claim that the FAA's diversity initiative was a factor in the disaster. He insisted that it was not.
When asked how FAA's diversity policy came to the conclusion that it had something to do with disasters, he said, “I have common sense, and unfortunately, many people don't.” He said.
No decisions have been made to prevent crashes, and the National Road Safety Commission is conducting an investigation.
However, the NTSB refused to say whether the DEI initiative was a factor in the crash when asked by a reporter later Thursday.
“As part of our investigation, we'll look at humans, machines and the environment,” said NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy. “So we see everybody who was involved in this accident. Again, we see the aircraft. We see the helicopters. We see the environment they are operating. That's part of that. Our investigation It's standard in every part.”
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At the White House briefing, several Cabinet officials spoke to the crash after Trump to deal with the crash.
“And when Americans take off on planes, they should expect to land at their destination,” he added. “It didn't happen yesterday. It's not accepted. So we don't accept excuses. We don't accept passing on spending. We are responsible for the Ministry of Transport and the FAA and responsible for the FAA. “We are bear the responsibility of President Trump to ensure that these mistakes never happen again.”
But while Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said the crash “has been made a mistake,” the Department of Defense said “it has to be based on colour brands and merits.” government. “”
“The era of DEI is no longer in the Department of Defense. Whether it's in air traffic control, or in the general, or in the entire government, we need the best and brightest things,” he said. .
Vice President JD Vance also hinted at the DEI taking part in the crash, saying, “I want the best people in air traffic control.”
“If I've returned to some of the headlines over the past decade, hundreds of people have sued the government because I want to be an air traffic controller, but they've turned away because of the colour of my skin,” Vance said. . “Safety is a top priority in the aviation industry, so it will end under Donald Trump's leadership.”
But when reporters pushed Trump and said that there was a similar language about DEI policy on the FAA website under Trump's first term, Trump said, “I changed Obama policy, and We had a very good policy, and Biden came in and he came in and changed it. And when I came two days ago, I was brought it to the highest level of intelligence.”
Trump said that Biden administration's Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg “just got the right bull,” and “running to the ground with his diversity.”
“Scary. As families grieve, Trump should take the lead, not lying,” Buttigieg replied in X's statement. Our watch flight. Do this to prevent this from happening again. ”
Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly called Trump's comments “danger, racist, ignorant.”
“President Trump twisted a terrible tragedy while his family lamented his loved ones and inserted his own political agenda and sow section,” Kelly said in a statement. “This is not leadership. We need to investigate how this crash on the plane gave families a sense of closure and how it happened to prevent future crashes.
“Trump would rather face the fact that he has just cut out the committee responsible for aviation safety, pointing his fingers rather than looking into the mirror,” she added. “The issue of our country is not its diversity. It is the lack of leadership in the White House and ineligible cabinet. Trump's actions and words are dangerous, racist, ignorant, simple, non-Americans. is.”
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