Trump uses moment of national tragedy to rage against diversity hiring

US President Donald Trump pauses for a moment of silence at the start of Thursday's press conference. EPA

For a few short moments on Thursday, President Donald Trump tried to unite a nation in shock over the worst US air disaster in more than a decade.

Standing in the White House briefing room the morning after 67 people were killed when a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter near Washington, Mr Trump did what presidents do: he bowed his head and requested a moment of silence to honour the victims.

“This is a dark and excruciating night in our nation's capital and in our nation's history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions. As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us,” Mr Trump told those in attendance, including Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

But shortly thereafter, he veered away from whatever script he had been reading. Without providing any evidence, and even as bodies were still being pulled from the Potomac River, Mr Trump suggested the crash was probably the result of the Federal Aviation Administration's diversity hiring practices under the Democrats. The Trump administration has made overturning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes a priority, claiming that unqualified minority candidates are given an unfair advantage in hiring processes.

“It just could have been” because of diversity hiring, Mr Trump said. When asked to elaborate on why he thought this, he said: “Because I have common sense and unfortunately a lot of people don't.”

A military helicopter approaches the Pentagon as a passenger jet passes in the distance on October 22, 2024. Thomas Watkins / The National

He blamed the previous administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden for promoting diversity hiring at federal agencies, claiming that during his first administration he had enforced standards that slipped when he left office in 2021.

“When I arrived in 2016, I made that change very early on because I always felt this was a job … that had to be [for people of] superior intelligence, and we didn't really have that,” he said. “When I left office and Biden took over, he changed [standards] back to lower than ever before.”

DEI programmes, a flashpoint in America's culture wars, were established across the US in part to address historical racial injustices that created barriers to employment for minority groups. But critics say the initiatives are non-meritocratic and discriminate against white people.

Mr Trump said that under diversity programmes, the FAA had sought to recruit workers with “severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions”.

Despite lashing out at DEI programmes, Mr Trump then conceded: “The helicopter obviously was in the wrong place at the wrong time and a tragedy occurred.”

He also took aim at Pete Buttigieg, who was transport secretary in the Biden administration, calling him “a disaster".

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Buttigieg responded on X, calling the comments “despicable".

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” Mr Buttigieg said.

Mr Trump later signed an order withdrawing federal diversity initiatives, saying his presidential memorandum on aviation safety would undo “damage” done by the Biden administration.

Wednesday's crash marked the first major disaster of Mr Trump's new term and his response to it hearkened back to the final weeks of his first stint in office, when he would hold freewheeling and sometimes confusing news conferences addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.

I cross the Lincoln Memorial Bridge that spans Potomac River at least once a week and frequently see military helicopters flying fast and low across the waterway, often headed towards the Pentagon, as nearby passenger jets fly out of or approach Ronald Reagan National Airport. The crowded airspace seems lucky to have avoided any mishaps until now, but we still don't know what went wrong.

What appears clear is that the American Airlines flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was on a normal descent into the airport when it collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter, whose crew was flying a training exercise while equipped with night-vision goggles.

Why the Black Hawk was allowed to be in the same airspace as a commercial air traffic route will be the subject of intense scrutiny, but for the President of a grieving nation to come out and blame hiring practices without even knowing what transpired is irresponsible.

President Harry Truman famously had a sign on his White House desk that stated “The Buck Stops Here”. As Mr Trump is now in power, he would be well advised to take responsibility and stop blaming everyone else.