Trump blames deadly Washington air collision on 'diversity'

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US President Donald Trump -- speaking as the bodies of 67 people were being pulled from Washington's Potomac River -- launched a political attack Thursday blaming diversity hires for the midair collision between an airliner and a military helicopter.

Trump's politicization of the tragedy came as investigators warned they needed time to unpick how the Bombardier jet, operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, and an army Black Hawk helicopter could smash into each other late Wednesday.

According to a report in The New York Times, staffing was thin at the control tower in Reagan National Airport, where the airliner was about to land when the collision occurred. One controller, rather than the usual two, was handling both plane and helicopter traffic, the Times quoted a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report as saying.

A fireball erupted in the night sky and both aircraft tumbled into icy Potomac, leaving rescue crews with the grim, difficult task of searching for bodies in the dark and cold.

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Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said 28 corpses had been found so far.

Trump, who took office 10 days ago, turned a press conference on the disaster into a platform for his crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI -- a series of often decades-old measures meant to combat racism and sexism across the United States.

Accusing his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama of having kept good employees out of the Federal Aviation Administration in pursuit of DEI, he claimed: "They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want the people that are competent."

The passenger plane was carrying 64 people and the Black Hawk had three aboard.

The collision -- the first major crash in the United States since 2009 when 49 people were killed near Buffalo, New York -- occurred as the airliner came into land after a routine flight from Wichita, Kansas.

Reagan National is a major airport located a short distance from downtown Washington, the White House and the Pentagon. The airspace is extremely busy, with civilian and military aircraft a constant presence.

Trump politicizes crash

Trump opened his White House press conference by speaking of the nation's anguish.

However, he then launched into an extended broadside against DEI, aiming directly at Biden's openly gay transport secretary Pete Buttigieg.

"He's run it right into the ground with his diversity," Trump said.

The message was hammered home as Trump's vice president, JD Vance, and new defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, took turns at the podium to repeat -- without any evidence -- the hard-right theory that diversity measures keep capable Americans out of responsible jobs.

Asked again by reporters whether he was blaming workplace diversity for the crash, Trump answered: "It could have been."

Buttigieg responded on X, calling Trump "despicable."

"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he said.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X that Trump's comments "blaming the FAA's hiring of women and black people for the crash - was disgusting."

"He's in charge. This happened on his watch," Murphy said.

Trump doubled down, however, later issuing an official memo that directed the government to investigate "deterioration in hiring standards" under Biden and "replacement" of anyone unqualified.

Skaters among victims

Among those on the airliner were several US skaters and coaches, US Figure Skating said. Officials in Moscow also confirmed the presence of Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 world pairs title.

The force of the collision soon made it clear that survivors were unlikely.

"I just saw a fireball and it was gone," one air traffic controller was heard telling a colleague after communication with the helicopter was cut.

Transport officials said both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.

And Hegseth said the Black Hawk chopper had "a fairly experienced crew that was doing a required annual night evaluation."

The federal investigation team deployed to the site cautioned that it will need time.

"We look at facts... and that will take some time," National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said.

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Source: AFP