U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about Wednesday’s deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Eagle flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., Jan. 30, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted former President Joe Biden and Democratic diversity measures after a midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter above Washington, D.C., the night before.
Trump, speaking at the White House, claimed that DEI “could have been” to blame for the collision, the deadliest U.S. plane crash since November 2001.
Trump did not provide evidence that the Biden-era efforts had anything to do with the crash, and criticized a reporter who asked if he was getting ahead of the investigation.
The comments showed the president quickly reverting to well-worn attacks on his political enemies after initially striking a somber tone and offering condolences to the victims and their families.
No one survived the collision, which occurred shortly before 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night, officials said. There were 64 people on board the airplane, which struck the helicopter as it prepared to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter.
The response has switched from a rescue mission to a recovery operation, as hundreds of first responders scour the Potomac River, where both aircraft landed after the collision.
D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said that at least 28 bodies have been recovered so far.
Trump first reacted to the crash in a Truth Social post after midnight, asking why the helicopter did not avoid the plane and why the air traffic control tower did not “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!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump posted later Thursday morning that he had been briefed on the “terrible accident.”
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