A study has just begun on the fatal planning accident over the Potomac River in Washington, without any reason determined by the National Transportation Safety Board.
However, President Donald Trump was quick to try to blame on Thursday as he gave a press conference in the White House while the recovery herds navigated in the icy waters searching for the victims.
“We don’t know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions,” he said.
Trump first claimed without evidence that diversity, justice and inclusion initiatives under democratic presidents could be a factor. Later, he doubled on the non -founded requirement while signing executive orders in the oval office.
Trump also suggested that helicopter pilots navigated in the US Army Black Hawk should have moved out of the way, but at one point, warnings to the crew said “very late.”
On Friday, he continued to question the mopes of the notch as it appeared to fly over the mandated 200 feet. “It’s not really too complicated to understand, is it ???” He wrote on his social media platform truth social.
President Donald Trump speaks in James Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House, January 30, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
Leading investigation of the crash is NTSB with a preliminary report that is due in 30 days, but a final report on probable cause, which is not likely for at least one year.
NTSB member Todd Inman said during a performance on “Good Morning America” on Friday that it is far too early to make a decision.
“The only conclusion I know is last night we met with hundreds of family members who lost their loved ones in Potomac,” he said. “We don’t need it to happen anymore. … We’ll find out what happened and we’ll try to prevent it from happening again.”
Emergency Response units work at the scene of the American Airlines aircraft on the Potomac River after the plane crashed last night by approach to Reagan National Airport, January 30, 2025, in Arlington, VA.
Al Drago/Getty Images
Trump accused former President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama of hiring air traffic controllers based on diversity targets.
“I set security first – Obama, Biden and Democrats set politics first, and they put politics at a level that no one has ever seen,” Trump claimed at Thursday’s news conference.
When he was pressed by ABC News Chief White House -correspondent Mary Bruce, which proof he had that the crash was caused by the DEI effort, Trump replied, “It could have just been.”
DEI or any similar program does not apply to hiring for air traffic management that requires strict health surveys and a multi -year training process. Applicants must pass a medical examination, a fitness test and a psychological test stricter than the one required by a pilot, said Chris Wilbanks, FAA -Vice President of Security and Technical Education.
Trump pointed to a New York Post article when he accused the Democrats of pushing for hiring people with serious mental disabilities at the Federal Aviation Administration. But the diversity language that was referred to in the article was on the few Web site throughout Trump’s first period and has been on site for more than a decade, according to Snopes.
President Donald Trump speaks with journalists after the signing of a executive order to appoint the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Oval Office in the White House, January 30, 2025 in Washington.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
However, Trump’s attack is in line with his agenda to run DEI from the federal government. In his first week, he signed several orders to place federal employees working on DEI on administrative leave and removing the Pentagon efforts.
Democrats pushed back on Trump’s allegations of the crash.
“Listen, it’s one thing for internet poundits to spray conspiracy theories. It is another for the president of the United States to throw away idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families are still notified,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN. Y., said Thursday. “It just turns your stomach.”
Pete Buttigieg, Bidens Transport Secretary and another goal of Trump’s criticism in the wake of the crash, called Trump’s comments “Despicable.”
“President Trump is now supervising the military and getting,” Buttigieg wrote in a social media post. “One of his first actions was to shoot and suspend some of the central staff who helped keep our heaven in safety. Time for the president to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again . ”
ABC News’ Selina Wang, Benjamin Siegel, Sam Sweeney, Fritz Farrow and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
