Trump blames 'diversity' for deadly Washington air collision

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking as 67 bodies were recovered from Washington's Potomac River, launched a political attack Thursday, blaming diversity hires for the midair collision between an airliner and a military helicopter.

Trump's politicization of the tragedy came as investigators warned they needed time to understand how the Bombardier jet, operated by an American Airlines subsidiary, and an army Black Hawk helicopter collided late Wednesday.

The New York Times reported that staffing was light at the Reagan National Airport control tower at the time of the crash. One controller, rather than the usual two, was handling both airliner and helicopter traffic, according to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration.

A fireball erupted in the night sky, and both aircraft tumbled into the icy Potomac, leaving rescue crews with the grim, difficult task of searching for bodies in the dark and cold.

Washington Fire Chief John Donnelly said 28 corpses had been found so far.

Trump, who assumed office 10 days ago, used a press conference on the disaster to criticize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, measures designed to combat racism and sexism in the U.S. He accused Democratic presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama of pushing DEI at the expense of qualified workers in the Federal Aviation Administration.

"They actually came out with a directive: 'too white.' And we want people who are competent," Trump said.

The passenger plane was carrying 64 people, while the Black Hawk helicopter had three onboard. The collision, the first major U.S. crash since 2009, occurred as the airliner was landing after a routine flight from Wichita, Kansas.

Reagan National is a major airport located near downtown Washington, the White House, and the Pentagon. Its airspace is constantly shared by civilian and military aircraft.

Trump began his press conference by expressing the nation’s grief but quickly pivoted to criticize DEI, including transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay. "He's run it right into the ground with his diversity," Trump said.

The sentiment was echoed by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also criticized DEI policies without offering evidence that they contributed to the crash.

When asked whether he was blaming diversity hiring for the incident, Trump replied, "It could have been."