President Trump blamed the diversity requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration and his two Democratic predecessors for the open -air collision on the Potomac river on Wednesday evening, saying that the standards for air traffic controllers were too lax.
Mr. Trump did not mention any evidence that the diversity programs had anything to do with the fatal accident, who killed 67 people, and even admitted when he supported that the investigation only came from to start.
A few moments later, he blamed the pilots of the army helicopter who seemed to fly in a jet of passengers when he was at the final approach of Reagan National Airport, opposite the capital. But he quickly returned to the theme that the diversity objectives which, according to him, were created by President Barack Obama and President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had created a dangerous sky, which implies that these movements had to have contributed to disaster.
Mr. Trump’s instant orientation on diversity reflects his instinct to supervise major events through his political or ideological objective, whether or not the facts are. This is something he did before: after a terrorist attack in New Orleans a month ago, he blamed illegal immigration, even if the striker was an American citizen born in Texas. When forest fires broke out in California, he blamed the water management policies of Governor Gavin Newsom, without any evidence that a different approach would have made a difference in the effort of fire fighting.
But his unproven accusation about Air Controllers intervened a few hours from the first disaster management challenge for his new mandate. He quickly became a demonstration of both his political style and his instinct, and at times looked like his series of press conferences, in the same briefing room, which COVVI-19 has spread across the country : a mixture of accusations on the cause and the prescriptions of the way in which proceed, often detached from the facts and analysis.
He started in the tradition of other presidents who had to console a shocked nation, as Ronald Reagan did after the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986 or George W. Bush after Columbia separated from entering The atmosphere in 2003. Mr. Trump asked for a moment of silence to remember the victims, and told their families that “we are there so that you wipe tears and offer you our dedication, our love and our support” , regardless of party divisions.
But in a few minutes, he embarked on a series of accusations, connecting his longtime complaints concerning the hiring practices to the disaster which took place in a clear night on the Potomac.
When a journalist challenged the president on the way he could say that the hiring of diversity was to be blamed for the accident even if basic acts on the open -air collision were still wanted by the investigators, he declared : “I have common sense, ok, and unfortunately many people do not. We want brilliant people to do this.
“For some jobs – and not only that, but air traffic controllers – they must be at the highest level of engineering,” he said.
From the FAA under Mr. Obama, Mr. Trump said: “They actually released a directive, too white.” At another time, he quoted on the FAA website, which, according to him, said that the agency sought to hire disabled people, in particular “hearing, vision, missing ends, partial paralysis , complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric incapacity and navism “and said they” all qualified for the position of a planes controller pouring into our country. “”
In fact, Mr. Trump quoted a language on the recruitment of disabled people on the FAA website which existed during his first administration. FAA veterans during this period said they did not know any episode in which Dei’s recruitment standards had been identified as a cause or a contributor. Tennessee Garvey, pilot and chairman of the board of directors of the organization of black aerospace professionals, said that strict standards for hiring drivers, mechanics and air traffic controllers were never Relaxed just to achieve diversity objectives. Mr. Trump is clearly disagreement, but could not cite an example on Thursday.
Without a doubt, exchanges between air controllers, plane and helicopter will be at the center of the investigation. Among the questions that arose on Thursday, there was less than the usual number of controllers working at the time of the accident, leaving too large burden on those who manage thefts, and why the pilots of the plane were Invited to change their approach from one of the main tracks of the airport to one of its shortest.
But an audio recording of the warnings of air controllers to the helicopter just before the accident indicates that a controller first warned the helicopter to seek a regional jet of Canadair, then told the helicopter pilot to pass behind The jet during its landing. This exchange will be part of the investigation.
A few hours after Mr. Trump’s statements, the Democrats criticized him and laughed. Senator Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, noted that the Congress authorized more staff and training for the FAA and that it was “now threatened by the Trump administration” while he seeks to shrink the government.
“We cannot have leaders making prejudicial and reckless decisions to revise the critical aspects of our national transport network for unrelevant cultural wars,” said Welch.
Disabled rights groups accused Trump of relaxing the blame.
“All disabled employees must be able to carry out all essential requirements without adaptation,” said Mia Ives-Rublee, director of Disability Justice Initiative of the Center for American Progress. “Trump should try to investigate the tragedy and comfort families, and not to strike to advance his political program without proof.”
The Congressional Black Caucus said that the mourning of the victims was “spoiled by a truly disgusting and shameful exhibition of a racist political prognosis”. In a statement, the members of the Caucus said that Mr. Trump had “moved to falsely blame the diversity initiatives for the cause of this incident. Not only are the president’s assertions, but they also speak of the desire of Republican party to divide us as a country.
Trump appeared in the white house news room with vice-president JD Vance; The newly sworn transporter, Sean Duffy; And the defense secretary Pete Hegseth. All three started their comments by praising Mr. Trump’s leadership and repeating that they would eliminate diversity requirements and focus on skills.
Mr. Hegseth, aware that the investigation would focus strongly on the blackhawk helicopter of the army which, according to him, produced an annual exercise on Wednesday evening, admitted that an “error had been committed”. But he immediately pivoted to support Trump, saying that the Ministry of Defense would be “Daltonian and based on merit”, whether “blackhawks and flying planes, head places or government”.
“The era of Dei went to the Ministry of Defense,” he continued, “and we need the best and most brilliant, whether in our air traffic control or whether in our generals . ” He was remarkable in part because he had been a major critic of General Charles Q. Brown Jr., the president of the joint staff chiefs, accusing last year that he brought from the culture of alarm clock to the pentagon And should be removed.
Mr. Trump reserved his most severe criticisms for the transport secretary under Mr. Biden, Pete Buttigieg, accusing him of having instilled diversity, equity and the objectives of inclusion to the FAA
Mr. Buttigieg responded on social networks. “Moved,” he wrote. “While families cry, Trump should lead, not lie. We put security first, have made close calls, have increased air traffic control and had no discrepancy from the commercial airline on millions of flights on our watch. »»
Trump appointed a new actor chief of the Federal Aviation Administration at the press conference: Chris Rocheleau, who spent two decades at the Agency and, more recently, was Director General of the National Business Association Association , which focuses on the country fleet of corporate aircraft. Among other FAA roles, he had managed the agency’s emergency operations. But his selection underlines the fact that Mr. Trump had not appointed an actor chief of the FAA in the first days of his presidency.
Mr. Rocheleau did not speak during the press conference, nor the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, who was also in the room. The council will be responsible for the investigation into the causes of the Potomac disaster.
Trump clearly said that he may not be willing to wait for investigative conclusions before coming to his own.
“We don’t know what has led to this crash, but we have very strong opinions and ideas,” he said. He said that “During the year, I saw things like this happen and they say:” Well, we are still investigating “, then the investigation three years later, they announce that we Let us think that “we have very good ideas. ‘”
The reports were brought by Peter Baker And Linda Qiu in Washington and Rachel Nostrant in New York.