Donald Trump’s unfounded verbal attack on diversity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) in relation to the Washington DC flight tragedy has come at a time of falling trust among Americans in such schemes.
The US president came out swinging on the back of the plane and helicopter collision, which killed 67 people, having previously sarcastically replied “you want me to go swimming?” when asked if he would visit the site.
Responders have now given up hope of finding any survivors after the American Airlines flight from Kansas collided with a Blackhawk US Army helicopter over the Potomac River.
Taking a press conference on Thursday, Mr Trump held a moment of silence and described being “heartbroken” before going on a rant.
“The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative,” he said.
The president did not elaborate and apportion blame but the comment didn’t go unnoticed by the press huddle. One journalist asked him if the disaster was caused by diversity hiring and to provide any evidence.
“It just could have been,” Mr Trump said, adding that “brain power” was important and then lashed out at former president Joe Biden for bringing in diversity initiatives.
When asked why he equates diversity with the crash, Mr Trump responded: “Because I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.”
The unfounded claims were backed by transportation secretary Sean Duffy who said Mr Trump’s leadership was “remarkable”.
Leading Democrat voice Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have hit out in retaliation to Mr Trump’s comments - stating that it was actually the president’s fault for “gutting” the aviation safety committee.
I represent LaGuardia Airport as well as workers for JFK.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 30, 2025
Trump gutted the Aviation Safety committee last week.
Air traffic controllers - already understaffed - got Trump’s “buyout” this week with a 1 week ultimatum to decide.
It’s not DEI - it’s him. And Elon too. https://t.co/nd8T9JMRfy
The congresswoman Ms Ocasio-Cortex tweeted: “I represent LaGuardia Airport as well as workers for JFK. Trump gutted the Aviation Safety committee last week.
“Air traffic controllers - already understaffed - got Trump’s “buyout” this week with a 1 week ultimatum to decide.
“It’s not DEI - it’s him. And Elon [Musk] too.”
Fewer Americans think DEI “is a good thing”
Increasing Republican resentment towards DEI has come hand in hand with growing distrust among Americans in the schemes.
According to data on Statista, “a slim majority of 52 per cent of US adults still thought that DEI programs at work were a good thing,” when asked during the 2024 presidential campaign.
But this is down from 56 per cent one year earlier. In addition, the stats showed that 21 per cent of all respondents had a negative view of DEI in 2024, while 26 per cent saw it as neither good nor bad.
Vice president JD Vance has also criticised inclusion policies, saying: "If you go to some of the headlines over the past ten years many hundreds of people are suing the government because they would like to be air traffic controllers but were turned away because of the color of their skin. That policy ends under Donald Trump’s leadership.”
The diversity initiatives were also attacked during the Los Angeles fires, with born-again Trumpite Elon Musk chiming in with a tweet reading, “DEI means DIE”.
And Republicans were also quick to point fingers on the back of the New Orleans terror attack. Representative Dan Meuser said: “The priority of the last four years has been DEI, not IEDs [improvised explosive devices].”
Mr Trump did acknowledge the cause of the crash is so far unknown as investigations continue.
