Trump Blames American Airlines Crash On DEI, Obama, Biden, And Buttigieg

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President Trump came out swinging this morning, blaming the deadly crash of a US Army helicopter into an American Airlines regional jet on his Democratic predecessors and on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy.

Trump Offers His Thoughts On American Airlines Crash

Trump began his press conference with a moment of silence for the victims and their families and then offered a statement of unity:

“We are one family, and today we are all heartbroken. We’re all searching for answers that icy, icy Potomac, or is it cold, cold night, cold water. We’re all overcome with the grief for many who have so tragically perished will no longer be with us. Together, we take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God.”

But Trump quickly pivoted to blame, saying, “We don’t know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions.”

While acknowledging that the investigation is ongoing and it is too early to make any final determinations, he stated, “We must have only the highest standards for those that work in our aviation system,” and claimed to have changed the standards put in place under the Obama Administration standards “from very mediocre at best to extraordinary” and that only those with “the highest aptitude and intellect” deserve to be in Air Traffic Control roles.

“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. Biden changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden, and the Democrats put policy first…their policy was horrible and their politics even worse.”

Trump cited his January 22, 2025 executive order, which “orders the Secretary of Transportation and FAA Administrator to immediately stop Biden DEI hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.”

He added, “It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak. who they are. It matters intellect. Talent. The word talent…you can’t have regular people doing their jobs.”

Trump then mockingly read a headline saying, “The FAA’s diversity push includes focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities” and placed the blame on former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg:

“The FAA, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a real winner. That guy is a real winner. A real winner. Do you know how badly everything has run since he’s run the Department of Transportation? He’s a disaster…He’s just got a good line of bullshit…he’s run it right into the ground with his diversity.”

In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration began to recruit people with disabilities to serve in roles having nothing to do with Air Traffic Control and that policy was not altered during Trump’s first administration.

Trump then took questions and was asked point-blank, “How can you say that diversity had something to do with this crash?” His response:

“Because I have common sense and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

He called air traffic control “a major chess game at a high level.”

Other Trump administration officials spoke at the press conference and also linked the crash to DEI.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, “When you don’t have the best standards, you don’t have the best people and you put extra burden on other people.” He added:

“If you go to some of the headlines over the past ten years many hundreds of people suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers but turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump’s leadership. Safety is the first priority of our aviation industry.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed to place the blame on the military helicopter pilots and also invoked the problem of DEI, stating, “We will ahve the best and brightest in every position possible. Colorblind and merit-based. The era of DEI is gone…”

Vice President JD Vance also echoed DEI concerns.

Trump then took questions, hinting that the investigation will not take years to complete.

“We did not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now, because over the years, I’ve watched as things like this happen. We think we have some pretty good ideas, but we’ll find out how this disaster occurred, and we’ll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

“We’ll restore faith in American air travel.”

You can watch the press conference yourself: