DC plane crash is a terrible tragedy. Trump, Democrats must stop the blame game. | Opinion
67 people were killed in the collision of an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter. Before pointing fingers, pause for a moment of shared mourning as a country.
A national tragedy happened Wednesday night when a passenger plane collided with an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Officials say there are no survivors among the 64 people on board the American Airlines flight and the three crew members on the Black Hawk helicopter.
Heartbreaking and shocking are the only words to describe it.
It’s unclear for now what caused the crash, and investigators are on the case. The families of the victims – and the American people – deserve answers.
"Everything was standard in the lead-up to the crash," Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said at a news conference. "Now, obviously something happened here, but you'll get more information and more details as this investigation moves forward. We'll learn what happened."
That time will come, and soon. Duffy also told reporters that the accident was “absolutely” preventable.
Yet, rather than pause for a moment of shared mourning as a country, the blame games and conspiracy theories are already flowing freely.
Blame Trump because of early hiring freeze? That's hardly fair.
President Donald Trump has been in office (for the second time) for less than two weeks, but that isn’t stopping pundits and Trump haters from assigning blame to the president.
On his first day, Trump issued a flurry of executive orders, one of which called for a temporary hiring freeze of federal workers. He’s also offered a buyout to federal employees. He’s doing this to fulfill a campaign promise to rightsize the government and reduce the country’s unsustainable $36 trillion debt.
Democrats and other Trump detractors are using these early actions to pin blame on him for the tragic plane crash.
Just days after his inauguration, several Democrats issued a statement warning of potential problems that the hiring freeze could precipitate.
Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, called out Trump for the alleged freeze on hiring air traffic controllers.
"Hiring air traffic controllers is the number one safety issue according to the entire aviation industry,” Larsen said in the statement. “Instead of working to improve aviation safety and lower costs for hardworking American families, the Administration is choosing to spread bogus DEI claims to justify this decision. I'm not surprised by the President's dangerous and divisive actions, but the Administration must reverse course.”
This statement is now getting shared widely, including by Democrats in Congress, as proof that Trump is somehow to blame for what happened.
That defies logic, given the executive order was signed only 10 days ago. Plus, the order specifically states it “does not prohibit making reallocations to meet the highest priority needs, maintain essential services, and protect national security, homeland security, and public safety.”
Air traffic controllers, who are employed by the Federal Aviation Administration, fall under that category.
Plus, the problems with the FAA and air traffic control long predated Trump. For years, airlines have complained about issues with the FAA’s outdated systems and staffing problems. Close calls on the runway – including a previous one at Reagan – have become alarmingly common.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, however, chose instead to focus on micromanaging the airlines and fining them for being late or not properly reimbursing passengers.
Surely, their lives are more important.
It’s worth noting that another one of Trump’s executive actions, “Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation,” to ensure “excellence and efficiency" was issued on his second day in office.
The country needs Trump to be a leader, not divider in chief
The crash is an early test in Trump’s second term about what kind of leader he will be in his final four years.
While I have a hard time believing many Democrats would ever find comfort in Trump, it's the president's duty during any national tragedy to try to bring us together.
So it’s not helpful for Trump to fire off rants that help fuel conspiracy theories.
Late Wednesday night, Trump posted this on Truth Social: "The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"
He’s not wrong to ask those questions or make those observations, but social media wasn’t the right venue to do so.
Trump did follow up with another post Thursday morning, a statement the White House had released the night before. He also spoke to reporters about the crash on Thursday morning at the White House.
“I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport,” Trump wrote. “May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
That sounds much more presidential, and it strikes the right tone.
The country deserves answers, but in the meantime, let’s hold off on blame games and focus on the lives tragically lost.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques