US President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed grief over the tragic plane crash which claimed over 64 lives while blaming the Barack Obama-Joe Biden era policy of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the accident. Trump claimed that the DEI initiatives prioritised policy over safety. The authorities have recovered 28 bodies so far as the search operation continues.
He said that the policy led to hiring of incompetent people in a bid to diversify the workforce. Trump criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, suggesting he hired unqualified people with disabilities and mental health issues for air traffic control jobs. Trump also claimed that the FAA was weakened by diversity hires after being labeled “too white.”
During the briefing, Trump argued that his own leadership had prioritised safety over politics. “I put safety first, Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen. Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse,” Trump said.
Trump called the incident a ‘devastating moment’ in the nation’s history. Acknowledging the impact on families across the United States and abroad, including Russian nationals on board, he assured that efforts would be made to determine the cause of the disaster and prevent such incidents in the future.
Addressing a press briefing on the aviation disaster, Trump said, “Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. This is really shaking a lot of people, including people from other nations.”
“We had a Russian contingent (on plane), some very talented people. Unfortunately, they were on that plane and we are very sorry about that. We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. We will find out how this disaster occurred and we will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Trump added.
The US President further affirmed that his administration will set the “highest possible bar” for aviation safety.
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