President Trump on Friday doubled down on claims that the fatal mid-air collision near Reagan Washington National Airport was caused by diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices carried out under previous administrations.
“This is just one reason why our Country WAS going to hell!!!” Trump wrote in Friday post.
His statement was accompanied by screenshots outlining claims that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) encouraged the hiring of individuals with “psychiatric disabilities” under the Biden administration, echoing comments he made during a Thursday press briefing.
“You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite. So we don’t know,” Trump said during the briefing.
“But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see,” he added.
“But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”
Trump on Friday said the helicopter was flying too high when the crash occurred, as other reports indicated there may have been reduced staff or abnormal circumstances in the air traffic control tower as well.
Trump has been criticized for apparently jumping to assumptions about the cause of the crash, which killed all 67 people on board both air crafts, while investigations are underway.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have warned against premature assessments about one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the nation’s history.
“Lives have been lost. Families have been devastated. People are suffering, and the leader of this country decides to go out and peddle lies, conspiracy theories and attack people of color and women without any basis whatsoever,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) asked after Trump’s comments on Thursday.
“Have you no decency? Have you no respect for the families whose lives have been turned upside down?”
Other elected officials, including Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), echoed his sentiments.
“This is not leadership. We need to investigate how this plane crash happened to give a sense of closure to grieving families and prevent future crashes,” she told reporters.
“Trump would rather point fingers than look in the mirror and face the fact that he just cut a committee responsible for aviation security.”
The president’s comments come days after he urged the FAA to terminate DEI hiring efforts, a practice he is looking to enforce throughout all federal agencies and departments.
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to appoint a new head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a position that was unfilled after the FAA chief under former President Biden resigned as Trump was sworn back into office.
Trump named Chris Rocheleau, a longtime former FAA official, as acting FAA administrator until a permanent choice is confirmed by the Senate.
