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In the wake of the Black Hawk collision — the first U.S. commercial flight to end in tragedy since 2009 — Donald Trump pointed fingers at DEI, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and practically anyone else who wasn’t him, for the deadly plane crash near Washington, D.C.
On Jan. 29, an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter tragically converged in the skies, resulting in an unspeakable loss. None of the 67 passengers or crew members are believed to have survived. Trump’s focus, in a stunning display of insensitivity, remained unapologetically on DEI. To hear him tell it, the names of the victims were less important than a rant on diversity policies. A closer look at the key figures involved in the incident reveals a starkly different story.
The individuals directly involved were all cis straight white males: the airplane pilots, the helicopter pilots, the air traffic controller, and even the FAA administrator, Christopher Rocheleau, appointed by Trump himself after his predecessor Michael Whitaker resigned under pressure. Whitaker was criticized by Elon Musk, a white billionaire with vested interests in reducing FAA oversight over his company, SpaceX. And Mr. President is still ranting about DEI being the boogeyman?
During a press conference, the President instead chose to indulge in speculative blame games. He claimed — sans evidence — that air traffic controllers hired under Obama and Biden’s watch were chosen not for their skills, but because they fit a diversity checkbox. These claims targeted policies meant to enhance opportunities for those with “targeted disabilities,” a term in Trump’s lexicon that seems to connote incompetence.
The ink had barely dried on the news reports before Trump signed what he dubbed a “Presidential Memorandum” concerning the “immediate assessment of aviation safety.” While the title might fool some into thinking that the administration was finally pulling its heads out of the sand and taking steps to investigate the accident, a closer read reveals its true intent: Dismantling any trace of Biden’s DEI policies in aviation. Trump’s order accused these policies of undermining aviation safety.
However, there is zero evidence that Biden’s diversity policies, or DEI in general, wreaked any havoc on aviation safety. The FAA’s policy on hiring people with disabilities has been in place since 2013. This policy was actually expanded under Trump’s own administration in 2019 — yes, the very man crying wolf now. Trump administration, at that time, introduced a program specifically designed to train people with disabilities for careers in air traffic control.
When reporters called out Trump on his blatant hypocrisy, he conveniently developed a case of selective amnesia.
Aviation experts, though, have admitted that the same programs likely enhanced safety. Ironically, it was Trump himself who rescinded his FAA policies through an executive order in his first week back in office. This about-face might confuse anyone trying to follow the logic — assuming there was any to follow. Now Trump is pointing fingers at phantom problems created by “woke” culture. It’s like blaming the weatherman for a rain dance you did yourself.
From the White House briefing room, Trump stressed the need for “brilliant people” in critical roles — which sounds suspiciously like code for less diversity. He also took a stab at playing air traffic controller himself, suggesting a host of maneuvers that could have averted the tragedy — slow down, speed up, dive, rise.
“You could have slowed down the helicopter. You could have stopped the helicopter. You could have gone up, you could have gone down, you could have gone straight up, straight down… you could have done a million different manuevers.”
Clearly, the president, who has never flown a helicopter or worked as an air traffic controller, is talking out of his rear end. Users on X, on the other hand, were quick to sketch out their own theories on what could have averted the crash. One user quipped:
Yup, the crash might have been the result of casting reality stars and bar buddies in roles that actually require skills. With Trump at the helm, Sean Duffy running transport, and Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, we’re living in a reality show where the prize is national chaos.