'Despicable, disgusting': Donald Trump slammed for blaming Washington DC plane crash on DEI

Donald Trump held an outrageous and tone-deaf press conference at the White House on Thursday (January 30) night, blaming Barack Obama and Joe Biden's administrations for the Washington DC plane crash and went in full attack mode on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).

On Wednesday (January 29), at 8.47pm local time, an American Airlines jet collided mid-air with an Army Black Hawk helicopter before both aircraft crashed down into the Potomac River below.

64 passengers and three Army aviators are all believed to have been killed in the incident with 40 bodies having now been pulled from the river, according to Chief John Donnelly of Washington's fire and emergency service on Thursday morning (30 January).

And while friends and family of those who died are grieving, and friends and family of those who remain unaccounted for fear the worst, Trump ignorantly went on the attack trying to point score politically, baselessly claiming Barack Obama and Joe Biden's administrations and DEI recruitment were to blame for the crash.

Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Thursday (January 30) night and went on an outrageous rampage on DEI / Getty Images

In a press conference at the White House, Trump said: "I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary, you remember that only the highest aptitude they have to be the highest intellect and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers.

"Then when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first.

"The initiative is part of the FAA's (Federal Aviation Administration) 'diversity and inclusion hiring plan', which says diversity is 'integral to achieving the FAA's mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel'. I don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's just the opposite."

Trump went on to blame former US secretary of transport Pete Buttigieg for the efforts to hire people with disabilities - but his policy had been in place since 2013 without interruption, including during the period Trump previously served as president from 2017 to 2021.

To be clear, requirements for air traffic controllers have long included specific physical and mental health standards.

And Buttigieg himself led the deserved rebuttal online.

He said: "Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."

And loads more echoed his thoughts.

"Trump's press conference today, blaming the FAA's hiring of women and black people for the crash - was disgusting," said US Senator from Connecticut Chris Murphy.

The No Lie podcast Tweeted: "Trump has so far blamed the deadly DCA plane crash on Barack Obama, Joe Biden, the Democratic Party, Pete Buttigieg, the 2020 election and diversity. No evidence was provided."

"Shame on us America for putting him in power," Joe Walsh from Social Contract said.

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich said: "This is disastrous leadership."

US Senator Tammy Duckworth said: "We need compassion and leadership - our President showed none."

"It's not DEI - it's him. And Elon too," US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tweeted.

And the Republicans Against Trump account Tweeted: "Absolutely disgusting. This man is utterly unfit to be President."

Trump already sparked a backlash on social media with comments he made soon after the plane crash and Meta is paying the 47th President of the United States $25m after his account was suspended following the January 6 2021 riots.

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