Faced with the first big test of his new administration, Donald Trump wanted to show he was in control. Not just as America's consoler-in-chief, but as its chief prosecutor and air accident investigator-in-chief too.
Trump started his White House briefing on a midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter in Washington with a traditional presidential tone and a moment of silence in what he called an "hour of anguish for a nation."
But he quickly pivoted to blame -- and culture war politics.
He blamed the helicopter pilots for the crash that killed 67 people. He blamed night-vision goggles. He talked about landing tracks and altitudes.
"We have some very strong opinions," Trump announced.
Above all, the 78-year-old Republican blamed the crash on diversity hires, in an astonishing attack on his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
"Because I have common sense, OK?" Trump replied when asked how he had reached the conclusion that programs to counter racism and sexism had played a role.
But the underlying message as Trump took the podium, flanked by a parade of tribute-paying officials, was that he had the situation under control -- and the crash wasn't his administration's fault.
The deadliest U.S. plane crash for a decade came as questions swirl about Trump's plans for a radical right-wing reshaping of the federal government -- including its aviation agency.
Trump's briefing had echoes of his appearances during the COVID pandemic in his first term when the abiding theme was: only I can fix this.
On one famous occasion Trump mused about injecting disinfectant as a "cleaning" for the disease.
Like then, Trump's first instinct on Thursday was to put himself at the center of the story, and to launch political attacks on his opponents.
And, like then, Trump rolled out people to praise him. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Secretary of Defense chief Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance were all called up to the famed lectern.
"It's not your fault," Trump said as he summoned a stunned-looking Duffy, who was sworn in less than six hours before the crash.
Duffy duly said the "president's leadership has been remarkable."
Hegseth took his turn, thanking Trump for his "leadership and courage" in what he calls a war on "woke" politics in the military, including a ban on transgender service members.
It was far from the first time Trump had used the traditional presidential role as consoler of the nation in times of tragedy to attack his opponents.
Last week he visited victims in fire-scorched California and hurricane-hit North Carolina -- launching broadsides at Democrats and threatening to shut down the federal disaster agency.
But Trump's preemptive assault on diversity on Thursday allowed him to deflect wider questions about whether his purge of the federal government will strain the agencies he will need to probe the air crash -- and future crises like it.
It came just a day after the White House was forced into a major climbdown, rescinding an order freezing funds for federal aid that caused chaos across the country.
The Federal Aviation Adminstration had no full-time leader at the time of the crash because its leader stepped down on inauguration day after Trump's cost-cutting chief Elon Musk, the world's richest man, demanded that he quit.
Trump announced a replacement during the briefing on Thursday.
The FAA was also one of the first targets for Trump's slew of executive orders after his inauguration, with one targeting diversity "madness" at the agency.
The spotlight also remains on Hegseth, a former Fox TV contributor and military veteran, who is also in his first week in the job.
His campaign against "woke" in the U.S. military was criticized by his predecessor Lloyd Austin, who said that rejecting "qualified patriots" would make the armed forces "weaker."
Hegseth is also under pressure to deliver after squeaking through his confirmation process due to allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and concerns over inexperience.
© 2025 AFP
37 Comments
John-San
One thing is for sure. Trump and his admin just made the relatives of all who were killed his very dangerous enemy's.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Well the scholar thinks he can comment on anything despite not being able to make it through a notecard.
GuruMick
Words you will never hear from Trump..."I am sorry...I was wrong "
Tamarama
There are many drawbacks for the rest of the world in Donald Trump's re-election, not the least of which is his stream-of-consciousness nonsense making news headlines on a daily basis.
Thanks, the people of America. Thanks very much.
Thanks for giving us a second serving of the worst national character traits of the US people: Loud, opinionated, self-righteous, ill-informed, vulgar, boorish, obnoxious guff.
Yuck.
I'veSeenFootage
No, what you have is actually called dementia, Donald.
bo
The sad part is the just and righteous american people voted him in and adore him .
TaiwanIsNotChina
You don't have to care what comes out of his mouth. We do.
TaiwanIsNotChina
1.5% is not adoration.
Bob Fosse
A real leader leads, looks forward and finds solutions. This charlatan points fingers and takes no responsibility for anything. Not a leader in any sense at all.
Tokyo Guy
While they're all too spineless to do it, the major news outlets should simply stop sending reporters to his comical efforts at briefings. Let him rant and rave to any empty room, or just invite Fox and OAN, because he could blame the crash on Lee Harvey Oswald and they'd duly write that down.
Tokyo Guy
1.5% is not adoration.
I think the poster was using "adore" in a more religious / figurative sense, as in "consider to be more than human". And there's no question that most of the evangelical base takes that stance.
lincolnman
More like;
The Messianic Moron...
The Felonious Fool...
The Demented Dimwit...
Geeter Mckluskie
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/american-airlines-plane-military-helicopter-crash-dc-airport
TaiwanIsNotChina
No they should be there triggering His Belligerency, but they should not be covering it on their programs except when he disgraces himself.
I'veSeenFootage
Oh, so this is all because of these bozos and their frivolous lawsuit! Thanks for the info.
Tokyo Guy
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/american-airlines-plane-military-helicopter-crash-dc-airport
Can't you find an actual news source?
lincolnman
No one is being fooled here - except maybe Trump's gullible supporters...
He's doubling down to deflect that the war in Ukraine is still going on - even after he promised to end it within 24 HOURS...
https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-ukraine-war-un-election-a78ecb843af452b8dda1d52d137ca893
He doubling down to deflect from his pardoned Jan 6th miscreants getting re-arrested for possessing guns, child porn, and running people down...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jan-6-rioter-pardoned-trump-sentenced-10-years-deadly-dwi-crash-rcna190104
He's doubling down to deflect from his own golf partner Lindsey Graham saying he VIOLATED THE LAW in firing the inspector generals...
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-inspectors-general-firing-2020984
This is all Trump trying to dodge from all his failures and broken promises...all in just one week...
Geeter Mckluskie
Lawsuits brought by those 1000 who passed the tests to become air traffic controllers but were rejected for being white.
Geeter Mckluskie
The quoted article is from the New York Times
wallace
A released video from a different angle appears to show the helicopter crashing into the plane which was probably flying higher than the set height.
I'veSeenFootage
That's not what happened. The "were rejected for being white." part was added by the racist dog-whistle specialists at Fow News.
GuruMick
Geeter....if air traffic person gave instructions that were not followed, how can you deflect back to a law suit ?
Would 3 extra air traffic people, all giving same instruction, guarantee that said instruction would be followed. ?
I see an accident mid air for reasons to be determined.
I also see a "walking back and post justification " for what Trump said.
Geeter Mckluskie
That's incorrect. Read the article
Geeter Mckluskie
It's been reported that one of the air traffic controllers left work early on the day of the crash.
Clearly, MORE not fewer air traffic controllers are necessary. Rejecting people who passed tests because they didn't fill the quota of "colour" criterion certainly didn't help in terms of having adequate numbers in the industry...no?
Tamarama
Well, it's in my morning news feed, champ, so there's that, but the other piece is that he is not stable. He's not a sensible, balanced man, which makes him more dangerous that a normal US President, which is bad enough.
So, you are wrong. We do have to care.
Thanks again, the voting public of the US.
Geeter Mckluskie
Your hysterical opinion is just that, nothing more
1glenn
I still can't believe we elected this fool to sit in the White House.
wallace
None of the helicopter crew or the pilot of the plane were DEI hires. The families have expressed concern over Trump's comments. Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, helicopter pilots, and Democratic policies at federal agencies.
iknowall
The evidence is the helicopter flew too high.
wallace
Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, helicopter pilots, and Democratic policies at federal agencies.
He also blamed it on DEI, night goggles, democrat policies, and transsexuals.
From a new video, it would appear the helicopter crashed into the plane but not because of DEI, or transsexuals.
Geeter Mckluskie
It's been widely reported that there has been an understaffing issue in the air traffic controler sector.
DEI initiatives have resulted in qualified applicants being rejected after passing tests to become an air traffic controler...because they were white
bass4funk
And liberals blamed Trump from the start as well.
Yes, to a certain degree except for transexuals, that was debunked garbage, also a lot of other expert pilots are saying things about the helicopter and pilots.
But if air traffic controls were given employment because of DEI, it is absolutely
lincolnman
Why not? What better way to investigate an aircraft crash than by a guy that BANKRUPTED an airline...
https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/travel-news/trump-shuttle-looking-back-at-donald-trumps-failed-forgotten-airline-20201001-h1r3q8.html
Trump 2.0 - all failure, all the time...
wallace
Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, helicopter pilots, and Democratic policies at federal agencies.
I did not and only posted well after Trump's comments. I'm not responsible for what others post.
He also blamed it on DEI, night goggles, democrat policies, and transsexuals.
Trump went further than that and included disabled people in wheelchairs.
From a new video, it would appear the helicopter crashed into the plane but not because of DEI, or transsexuals.
You can show the air traffic controller on duty was a DEI hire. It appears there should have been two and not just one.
Zaphod
wallace
I do not know that, and neither do you. Why such as strong opinion before this case is analysed?
Did he judge this particular case? I did not see that. He simply pointed out that DEI hiring in safety critical jobs is a huge problem, and people have warned about exactly this since Obama started pushing it. There are law-suits going on about it.
wallace
This tragic accident mainly only involved the helicopter pilots, the pilot of the plane, and the air traffic controller. Four people.
The soldiers onboard the helicopter were all white as was the pilot of the plane. They were not DEI hires. I don't know anything about the air traffic controller.
Trump mouthed off before any real facts were known. He caused the stink.
wallace
It was the Republican President Reagan who fired the 18,000 air traffic controllers. Many left the industry. The COVID-19 caused further people to leave. 285 of 313 Air Traffic Control Facilities Are Understaffed.