Trump blames DEI for fatal Washington plane crash
Matthew CranstonUnited States correspondent
Updated Jan 31, 2025 – 8.44am,first published at 5.40am
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Washington | Donald Trump blamed diversity, equity and inclusion policies of previous Democrat administrations for a midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter that killed 67 people just outside Washington.
Without citing evidence, the US president said his “common sense” assessment was that the tragedy was caused by lax safety standards as a result of DEI policies introduced by his predecessors.
President Donald Trump suggested that efforts to boost diversity could have been a cause in the crash. AP
He also questioned the actions of the army helicopter pilot involved in the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades.
The president confirmed all 64 passengers and crew on the plane and three on the helicopter were killed in the crash on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT). The aircraft from Wichita, Kansas, was landing at Washington Reagan National Airport when it was hit by the helicopter, plunging into the Potomac River.
Investigators are just beginning their probe into the cause of the accident as emergency workers recover bodies from the frigid river. The fuselage of the commercial jet was found in three pieces in the water and rescue boats have converged around the partly submerged wing and other mangled wreckage.
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At a White House briefing, Mr Trump offered a moment of silence and acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions, as he encouraged the country to pray for the victims.
But he quickly launched into a political attack on his predecessors, saying former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden had lowered standards for who was allowed to qualify to be an air traffic controller.
Emergency crews respond to the crash site along the Potomac River. Bloomberg
‘Intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems’
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system,” Mr Trump said.“I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. And then when I left office and Biden took over – he changed them back to lower than ever before.”
In the nearly 40-minute briefing, he said the Biden administration encouraged the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative”.
He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism”.
He said that while there was no evidence the air traffic controllers or pilots had been in error, he was suspicious of skill levels in the industry.
Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Mr Trump said, “Because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”
He then turned his attention to the crew of the Black Hawk helicopter, wondering aloud if the pilot was wearing night-vision goggles, declaring that “you had a pilot problem” and that the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad”. He questioned why the pilot didn’t change course, saying, “You can stop a helicopter very quickly.”
The president was asked whether Americans should now be hesitant to fly given he was questioning the competence of industry workers. “No, not at all. I would not hesitate to fly,” he said, “We’ll restore faith in American air travel.”
Mr Trump has moved to wind back diversity initiatives in America since taking office, signing executive orders last week that put all federal DEI workers on notice. He and his supporters argue that DEI programs are discriminatory.
