Combative Trump points to Dei’s policies after air tragedy

Donald Trump appeared before the cameras of the White House press room on Thursday to perform a traditional presidential duty: Console in chief for a time of tragedy.

He said that the country was mourning, shared his condolences for “an hour of anguish” and paid tribute to lifeguards and victims.

Then he turned sharply, providing another reminder of how his new presidency will be very different.

It will be combative. It will be without script. And it will be fast to point out your finger of guilt.

“We don’t know what led to this clash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas,” he said.

He then speculated that reduced hiring standards for air traffic controlle in the Federal Aviation Administration during the presidents of Joe Biden and Barack Obama may have been a factor in the disaster.

Trump and his republican companions have regularly attacked the programs of “diversity, equity and inclusion” in the federal government.

His team has made such programs undo a central part of his first days in office, saying that they have divided Americans and weakened the country.

And less than 24 hours after the first major American aerial disaster in more than a decade, Trump, along with his transport and defense secretaries, and his vice president, turned to mark his point, even when they did not provide evidence that federal hiring The practices had some connection with this particular blockade.

Asked by a journalist how he could blame the diversity programs of the accident when the investigation had just begun, the president replied: “Because I have common sense.”

At other times, he acknowledged that there was no confirmed cause, saying “everything is under investigation.”

Trump said the hiring guide for the FAA diversity and inclusion program included preference for those with disabilities involving “hearing, vision, missing limbs, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric and dwarf disability” .

A archived version of a website for the Diversity and Inclusion Contracting Program that seems to have been eliminated in December included a similar list. The agency sought people with “specific disabilities” that the federal government was prioritizing for recruitment at that time.

But it is not clear how that impulse to make the recruitment more diverse may have affected the ranks of air traffic controllers, that President Trump said everyone needed to be “naturally talented geniuses.” FAA has more than 35,000 employees, only a fraction of which it plays that role.

In response to criticism about diversity hiring practices last year, the agency issued a statement that states that all new contracts must comply with “rigorous qualifications” that “vary by position.”

The agency has faced criticism for a long shortage of air traffic controllers, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive interruptions in commercial air trips.

Reports suggest that personnel levels at Reagan airport on Wednesday night may have been compromised.

In his comments, Trump specifically blamed the Secretary of Transportation of the Biden Administration, Pete Buttigieg, whom he described with an obscenity and said he had directed the department “to the ground.”

Buttigieg defended his history on social networks, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.” “As families cry, Trump should lead, don’t lie,” he said.

The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, also criticized Trump’s comments.

“One thing is that Internet experts throw conspiracies, another is that the president of the United States throws inactive speculation since organisms are still recovering,” said Schumer.

However, once he left his prepared comments, speculation was what President Trump seemed most interested in offering.

Together with his conviction for Dei’s policies, he offered an extended discussion of the angles and the elevation in which the two aircraft flew, the climatic conditions on Wednesday night, the potomac temperature and the behavior of the army helicopter.

“We had a situation in which we had a helicopter that had the ability to stop,” he said. “For some reason, he went ahead.”

Two things were very clear about Trump’s comments on Thursday.

The first is that your desire to inject into an important news does not decrease in its new term. And the second is that, in his opinion, it is never too soon to inject politics into the national tragedy, and use it to attack opponents and advance their agenda.