Less than five miles from the Potomac River, a familiar version of President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Trump appeared to resume the role of blamer-in-chief in the aftermath of Thursday's fatal plane crash, surveying the tragedy as just another American citizen asking questions, rather than as the leader of a nation dealing with its first commercial air disaster in 15 years.
An American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided around 9 p.m. on Wednesday as the regional jet carrying 64 people was approaching the runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington.
Trump, in his first appearance at the White House press room podium since taking office last week, delivered his condolences to the families of victims before immediately passing the buck to former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and even the pilots on the Army helicopter.
Asked what brought him to those conclusions given that the investigation into the crash was only hours old and most victims had not even been identified, the president responded: "Because I have common sense."
As of Thursday afternoon, bodies continued to be pulled out of the frigid waters of the Potomac as emergency officials worked tirelessly to find the 67 people presumed to have died in what has become the deadliest U.S. plane crash since 2001.
Trump's immediate remarks are a reminder that while many things may be different with the second Trump administration, plenty remains the same. The tone struck by the president on Thursday was much like the pattern of finger-pointing that he took during his first term.
It was a strategy he deployed often at the expense of his political rivals, whom he dubbed with nicknames like the "Do Nothing Democrats," "Cryin' Chuck Schumer," and "Crazy Nancy [Pelosi]."
In the first months of the Covid pandemic, Trump repeatedly blamed China for the virus, tweeting remarks like, "The Democrats are just, as always, looking for trouble. They do nothing constructive, even in times of crisis. They don't want to blame their cash cow, China, for the plague. China is blaming Europe," on May 2, 2020.
But it was Trump's own administration that failed to entirely halt flights from China in those critical early weeks. Between February and March 2020, as Trump was casting about for someone to blame for the growing crisis that would engulf his presidency, nearly 40,000 people traveled from China to the U.S., despite limited travel restrictions he put in place.
Around the same time, with the country in the throes of the first wave of the pandemic, Trump said the federal government should not have to rescue states and cities struggling with the fiscal catastrophe that was emerging.
"Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help? I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?"
On the day of that tweet, April 27, New York City recorded 337 Covid deaths.
Fast forward to New Year's Day 2025, weeks before he took office for a second time, Trump seemed to turn back to that tune when he blamed lax border security for a terrorist attack in New Orleans that left 15 dead and dozens more injured. The perpetuator in that attack was a U.S. citizen born in Texas.
Republican strategist Matt Klink told Newsweek on Thursday that Trump's response to the plane crash in Washington "missed the mark."
"Instead of simply stating that he didn't yet have all the information to decide what caused the crash, he injected politics into an already highly emotional situation," Klink said.
He continued, "The President needs to realize that the election is over, and while he wants to smash the status quo, which people who voted for him support, at this particular moment, Americans were looking for reassurance from the commander-in-chief that he and his new team, which isn't even complete, would get to the bottom of what caused the crash and enact changes to make sure that events like the crash are rare."
Veteran Democratic strategist Matt Bennett said the blame game is crucial to Trump's brand of right-wing populism, where those figures "must always be the hero and have a villain to blame."
"In the wake of a horrific tragedy like this, most public figures would simply help the country grieve and vow to investigate," Bennett told Newsweek. "Trump, by contrast, looks for ways to aggrandize himself and blame his enemies. It's unsurprising – this is what he did the last time he was president – but no less sickening to see him point fingers without evidence rather than help the nation heal."
Political consultant Jay Townsend also criticized the president's response.
"When fireman show up to put out a fire, that is their top priority. They don't waste time finding someone to blame for the fire."
But Steve Mitchell, a GOP pollster from Michigan, argued that Trump's response was just putting voice to what other Americans had been thinking.
In his initial response to the tragedy, Trump wrote on Truth Social late Wednesday that the plane was on a "perfect and routine" path and that the helicopter should have seen the plane's "blazing" lights on such a "CLEAR NIGHT." He questioned why the helicopter didn't divert from the plane's path and why the control tower didn't step in to order that helicopter to move.
"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!" Trump said.
Mitchell said one of the reasons Trump is popular among his voters is because "he often echoes what others are saying."
"When you look at what happened on a crystal clear night at one of the most sophisticated airports in the world, it's difficult not to draw the conclusion that this could've been prevented," Mitchell said.
On Thursday, Trump held a moment of silence for the victims, telling the press, "We are in mourning, this has really shaken a lot of people." But he moved on quickly, saying, "We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. We'll find out how this disaster occurred and we'll ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."
Mitchell applauded Trump for extended his sympathy and condolences to those impacted by the collision and for not offering "platitudes or cliches," and instead saying "what everyone else was thinking."
"[It]is why voters identify so well with him and with his leadership style," Mitchell said. "He continues to say what he thinks, and do what he says he is going to do."
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