Trump signs executive order to eradicate DEI from the FAA and makes awkward JOKE about visiting plane crash site

President Donald Trump doubled down connected comments blaming DEI hiring practices for the aerial clang successful Washington, DC and dismissed a question astir an contiguous sojourn to the tract of the carnage with a gag astir swimming.

The caller bid came conscionable hours aft Trump held an bonzer property league wherever helium blasted DEI and woke practices astatine the Federal Aviation Administration and complained that a commercialized craft and Black Hawk chopper were some astatine the 'same height' during the collision.

Asked constituent blank if helium was alert of immoderate show issues oregon disciplinary actions with anyone moving astatine DCA's aerial power operation oregon the craft during the crash, Trump responded: 'No.'

But astatine different point, asked contention and gender played a relation successful the tragic accident, Trump said: 'It whitethorn have, I don't know. Incompetence mightiness person played a role.'

Trump, 78, was asked if helium had immoderate plans to spell sojourn the site, arsenic rescue workers scour the Potomac River for bodies and cod debris astatine the commencement of a lengthy probe astir the crash.  

'I person a program to sojourn – not the site. Because what – you archer me. What's the site? Water. We're going to spell swimming?'

Instead of visiting the Potomac wherever lone parts of the American Eagle formation 5342 are disposable supra astir 7 feet of water, Trump said helium would beryllium gathering with household members of immoderate victims.

'I volition beryllium gathering with immoderate radical that were precise severely hurt, with their household member, obviously, but I'll beryllium gathering with immoderate of the families,' helium said.

White House unit caput Will Scharf summarized Trump's latest enforcement bid soon earlier helium signed it.

He said it called for an 'immediate appraisal of aviation information successful airy of the harm done to aviation information by the Biden administration's DEI and woke policies.'

Scharf said it called for the caller acting FAA administer to 'basically guarantee that we are actively undoing each of that damage, that we are assessing however overmuch harm was done' and ensuring that FAA employees 'are lone the astir outstanding, susceptible radical for the jobs that they're being hired into.'

Trump besides dismissed concerns that a government-wide email this week offering paid resignation 'buyouts' to 2 cardinal workers would instrumentality a toll connected the 50,000-strong FAA.

If radical instrumentality the deal, 'then they'll beryllium replaced with precise competent people,' Trump said.

Trump ruled retired interest astir congestion astatine the airdrome with the nation's busiest main runway arsenic a culprit. 'No, I deliberation we request precise astute radical moving the flights and doing it,' Trump said.

The speech with the property wrong the Oval Office came arsenic responders were inactive removing bodies from the Potomac River from a clang that killed 64.

Instead, helium kept his absorption connected policies that accent DEI hiring. ''And it's not based connected thing different than the brain. We request the smartest people. We request some psychologically astute and conscionable brilliant, period,' Trump said.

Trump's caller bid and comments doubling down came aft he claimed diverseness and inclusion policies are down 1 of the deadliest level crashes successful U.S. history.

The commander-in-chief said the collision betwixt a rider level and a subject chopper successful Washington D.C that took 67 lives was a 'tragedy of unspeakable proportions.'

He added that those flying the Black Hawk chopper should person 'seen wherever they were going'.

Speaking astatine the White House, Trump said the calamity 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.

Trump past said helium enactment 'safety' archetypal portion Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden prioritized authorities and called erstwhile Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a 'disaster' successful an bonzer onslaught connected erstwhile administrations. 

'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.

Trump added: 'The inaugural is portion of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) diverseness and inclusion hiring plan. Think of that.' 

He insisted 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.' 

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 PSA formation retired of Wichita, and 3 members of the subject aboard the Black Hawk. 

All are judge to person perished aft the hunt and rescue transitioned to a betterment phase.

Divers person been successful the frigid waters of the Potomac River overnight tyring to find  bodies arsenic investigators tried to portion unneurotic what led to the deadliest U.S. aerial clang since 2019. 

Only nether questioning by reporters did Trump get backmost to immoderate of the different areas being identified arsenic imaginable contributors to the tragedy.

He was asked astir Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's connection that the Army Black Hawk was doing 'annual retraining, night flights connected a modular corridor for a continuity of authorities mission.'

 Trump did not look to instantly cognize astir continuity of authorities – which refers to however the authorities functions during a catastrophe – erstwhile asked astir it. 

'I don't cognize what that refers to, but they were practicing. They were – they bash that. They telephone it practicing, and that's thing that should beryllium done. It's lone continuity successful the consciousness that we privation to person precise bully people, and that has to beryllium successful continuity, and that's what they referred to,' Trump said. 

Nor did helium code the dense measurement of flights into DC, thing some of Virginia's Democratic senators person raised. DCA's main runway is the busiest successful the nation.

Instead, Trump, who has his ain level that was parked astatine DCA Thursday, spoke of his ain acquisition and the level and altitude being astatine the aforesaid altitude.

'You had a aviator problem. Because it was visual. It was a precise wide nighttime ... It was cold, but wide and wide arsenic you could be.'

'The American Airlines level had lights blazing. They had each their landing lights on,' helium said.

You tin halt a chopper precise quickly. It had the quality to spell up oregon down, had the quality to turn, and the crook it made was not the close turn, obviously. And it did somewhat the other of what it was told.

They shouldn't person been astatine the aforesaid height, due to the fact that if it wasn't the aforesaid height, you could person gone nether it oregon implicit it. And cipher realized,' Trump said. 

In different objection of however Trump and his caller furniture members are marching successful the aforesaid direction, some Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Hegseth besides blamed DEI during their ain little remarks.

'We tin lone judge the champion and the brightest successful positions of safety,' Duffy said, echoing Trump's language.

'When you don't person the champion standards 1 who you're hiring … it puts stresses connected the radical who are already there,' said Vice President J.D. Vance.

Trump work from what helium says was the FAA website listing diverseness categories.

'The FAA website states they see hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, implicit paralysis, epilepsy, terrible intelligence disability, psychiatric disablement and dwarfism each qualified for the presumption of a controller of aerial planes pouring into our country, pouring into a small spot. A small dot connected the map. A runway.'

Trump blasted Barack Obama and Joe Biden for including diverseness standards. 'I changed the Obama standards from precise mediocre astatine champion to extraordinary,' Trump said.

Buttigieg, the archetypal openly cheery Secretary of Transportation and the Biden administration's erstwhile main defender connected Fox News, deed backmost online. 

'Despicable,' helium wrote connected X aft Trump's presser. 

'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. 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.'

Trump came to the briefing country for his archetypal speech with the property determination successful his 2nd term. He began by holding a infinitesimal of soundlessness for the victims and their families. 

It was the country of galore tense updates during the coronavirus pandemic during his first.

All 49 seats were occupied successful the James Brady Briefing Room good earlier the commencement time, and correspondents stood 2 heavy successful the constrictive aisles.

'It's sardine time,' said 1 precocious arrival.

The lights and the bodies made for a warm, aggravated environment.

Trump's caller Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the clang was 'preventable,' and his caller Pentagon brag Pete Hegseth said the subject unit were engaged successful an yearly grooming workout and had night-vision gear. 

Trump's quality came aft Trump issued a brace of online posts astir the tragedy. 

But helium chose to prehend power of communications operation. 

His caller Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a video connection but nixed a planned briefing with the Pentagon property corps.

'I person been afloat briefed connected the unspeakable mishap which conscionable took spot astatine Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls,' Trump wrote connected his Truth Social site. 'Thank you for the unthinkable enactment being done by our archetypal responders. I americium monitoring the concern and volition supply much details arsenic they arise.'

That followed an angrier station overnight, erstwhile Trump blamed the Blackhawk chopper progressive successful the clang arsenic good arsenic aerial postulation controllers.   

'The airplane was connected a cleanable and regular enactment of attack to the airport. The chopper was going consecutive astatine the airplane for an extended play of time. It is simply a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights connected the level were blazing, wherefore didn't the chopper spell up oregon down, oregon turn,' Trump wondered online.

'Why didn't the power operation archer the chopper what to bash alternatively of asking if they saw the plane. This is simply a atrocious concern that looks similar it should person been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!'