Trump Holds Press Conference on Midair Collision of Commercial Jet, Army Helicopter

President Donald Trump on Thursday morning spoke about the midair collision that occurred Wednesday evening near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at a press conference at the White House.

The collision just outside of Washington, D.C., involved a regional jet operating as an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, and an Army UH-60 helicopter on a training flight that originated at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

According to the District of Columbia fire chief, a recovery operation is being conducted in the Potomac River, but there are likely no survivors of the crash.

Trump called the event a “real tragedy” after holding a moment of silence for the victims of the crash.

Trump said that a thorough investigation in the Federal Aviation Administration and within the military will take place and that the public will know about the findings of that investigation.

The president noted that during his first administration he increased the standards for FAA officials. Those standards were later lowered by President Joe Biden, then raised again when Trump came back to office on Jan. 20.

Trump blamed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion over high standards.

“The FAA’s diversity push includes a focus on hiring people with severe intellectual and psychiatric abilities,” he said.

One reporter asked Trump how he came to the conclusion that DEI might be part of the reason for the plane crash. “Because I have common sense,” Trump responded.

Vice President JD Vance said that the administration is focused on hiring the best people possible for jobs where lives are at stake.

“We want to hire the best people because we want the best people at air traffic control, and we want to make sure we have enough people at air traffic control who are actually competent to do the job,” he said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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