Pete Buttigieg responds to Trump's 'despicable' comments blaming HIM and DEI for DC plane crash

Pete Buttigieg fired backmost astatine Donald Trump, saying helium should beryllium 'leading, not lying' aft the president blamed him, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and diverseness hiring for the collision of a commercialized level and subject chopper that took 67 lives.

The erstwhile Transportation caput called Trump's comments 'despicable' and noted determination were 'zero commercialized hose clang fatalities' nether his watch.

'Despicable,' Buttigieg wrote connected societal media aft Trump's property league connected the crash.

'As families grieve, Trump should beryllium leading, not lying. We enactment information first, drove down adjacent calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercialized hose clang fatalities retired of millions of flights connected our watch,' helium noted.

Buttigieg said, that arsenic commander-in-chief, Trump is successful charge. 

'President Trump present oversees the subject and the FAA. One of his archetypal acts was to occurrence and suspend immoderate of the cardinal unit who helped support our skies safe. Time for the President to amusement existent enactment and explicate what helium volition bash to forestall this from happening again.'

Speaking astatine the White House on Thursday, Trump said Wednesday night's midair collision extracurricular of Reagan National Airport was wholly preventable arsenic helium slammed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) recruiting practices successful national agencies.

He added that helium had immoderate 'pretty bully ideas' of however the catastrophe occurred and vowed to marque definite it would ne'er hap again.

The crash, coming a week aft Trump took the oath of office, is the archetypal large trial of his administration's catastrophe response.  His caller proscription secretary, Sean Duffy, was besides astatine the briefing. Duffy was sworn into bureau the time earlier the crash.

Trump argued helium enactment 'safety' archetypal arsenic president portion Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden prioritized politics. He besides called Buttigieg by name, saying helium was a 'disaster.'

'He was a catastrophe arsenic a Mayor. He ran his metropolis into the crushed and he's a catastrophe now. He's conscionable got a bully enactment of bulls***', Trump said of Buttigieg.

Buttigieg was politician of South Bend, Ind., earlier Biden elevated him to his Cabinet. He served arsenic Transportation caput each 4 years of the Biden administration. 

But Trump blasted his tenure, saying: 'The inaugural is portion of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) diverseness and inclusion hiring plan. Think of that.' 

Then helium insisted that national agencies request to beryllium hiring based connected quality alternatively than connected diversity. He added that Air Traffic Controllers request to beryllium 'geniuses'. 

As a reference, helium pointed to a study from wrong the FAA that the workforce was 'too white.' 

Buttigieg has bragged astir raising FAA staffing during his tenure.

In a December exit interrogation with USA Today, helium talked astir his enactment with formation controllers: 'To enactment it succinctly, FAA staffing had been connected a trajectory of decline, past it stabilized nether the Biden administration, and present it's really going up. It's not that we got it done overnight, it's that we changed the trajectory from a occupation that was getting worse to a occupation that's getting better.'

Other Democrats were captious of Trump's property league connected the tragedy. 

'I conscionable watched President Trump's quality conference,' said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer connected the Senate floor. 

'Listen, it's 1 happening for net pundits to spew disconnected conspiracies, it's different for the president of the United States to propulsion retired idle speculation arsenic bodies are inactive being recovered.'

Trump came to the White House property country to marque a connection connected the collision betwixt American Eagle level and a subject helicopter. It was the archetypal hose clang successful the United States since 2009.

On Wednesday night, American Eagle formation 5342 collided with an Army Black Hawk chopper connected a grooming formation arsenic it approached the runway astatine Ronald Reagan National Airport.

There were 60 passengers and 4 unit aboard the formation retired of Wichita, and 3 members of the subject aboard the Black Hawk. 

All are believed dead. The hunt and rescue has transitioned to a betterment phase.

Search and rescue workers have pulled 27 bodies from the level and 1 from the helicopter.

There has been nary authoritative origin for the collision. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.