Trump Acknowledges He Doesn't Have Evidence DEI Caused D.C. Plane Crash

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President Donald Trump acknowledged on Thursday that he doesn't have evidence that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration were responsible for a fatal plane crash in Washington, D.C.

The Context

American Airlines Flight 5342 was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday when it collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter performing a routine training flight.

It was the first major aviation disaster involving an airline in the U.S. since 2009. John Donnelly, fire and EMS chief for Washington, D.C., told reporters Thursday morning that 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the copter.

"We don't believe there are any survivors," he said, adding that operations had switched from rescue to recovery.

What To Know

Trump blamed diversity initiatives at the FAA for the fatal crash and pointed the finger at the Biden and Obama administrations.

But when a reporter asked him if he had any evidence DEI policies were in part responsible for the crash, Trump responded, "it could have been," but "we don't know."

"On DEI and the claims you've made, are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring?" NBC's Mary Bruce asked Trump at a White House press briefing. "And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?"

"It just could have been," Trump said. "We have a high standard. We've had a higher, much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower, you have to go by psychological quality and psychological quality is a very important element of it."

He added: "These are various very powerful tests that we put to use, and they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that's the exact opposite. So we don't know."

In addition to blaming Biden's policies and diversity-related hiring practices, Trump also lashed out at former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

"The FAA, which is overseen by Secretary Pete Buttigieg, that guy's a real winner. Do you know how badly everything's run since he's run the DOT? He's a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor, and he's a disaster now. He's got a good line of bulls***," Trump said.

Buttigieg fired back at the president, calling his comments "despicable" and noting that one of Trump's "first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe."

"Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again," he wrote.

Trump and his team made eliminating DEI policies a central focus of his successful 2024 campaign. Among other things, the president signed a raft of executive actions shutting down diversity initiatives across federal agencies and immediately placing staffers from DEI-focused offices on paid leave.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said "we can only accept the best and the brightest" in roles involving passenger safety, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that "the era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department and we need the best and brightest."

What People Are Saying

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, on X: "I just watched President Trump's news conference on the heartbreaking, horrific accident at DCA, and I have to tell you: It's one thing for internet pundits to spew up conspiracy theories. It's another for the President of the United States of America to throw out idle speculation even as victims are still being recovered, and families are still being notified. It turns your stomach."

Duffy said at a Thursday news conference: "What I've seen so far, do I think this was preventable? Absolutely."

Republican Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee said people should "go a little slower" on lobbing DEI-related accusations, saying in a video posted to X: "It's just a complete tragedy, but I'd like to warn everybody: a lot of folks are saying DEI and all this other stuff ... let's find out ... almost 70 people lost their lives and it's just a complete tragedy. And I think we ought to just go a little slower, maybe we'll get there a little faster."