Trump goes on the offensive against DEI at plane crash briefing
President Donald Trump went on the offensive against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at his press briefing on the plane crash, but did not cite evidence to back up his claims that DEI policies or any deficiencies on the part of air traffic controllers were factors in the accident, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier that "everything was standard in the lead up."
Trump called Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary in the Biden administration, "bulls---," and said Buttigieg has "run [the Department of Transportation] right into the ground with his diversity."
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Trump said before he entered office the Federal Aviation Administration's diversity and inclusion hiring plan was "actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems."
"Brilliant people have to be in those positions," Trump said.
"Those disabilities at the federal government as a matter of policy, as identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. The FAA website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism all qualify for the position of a controller," he said.
When pressed by ABC News' Mary Bruce, Trump said that "we don't know" what caused the crash and added that they're still looking into it.
Another reporter pressed Trump about how he concluded DEI policies were to blame and Trump said that it was because he has "common sense."
The diversity initiative Trump referred to was in place during his first term.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared alongside Trump, adding, "We will have the best and brightest in every position possible. As you said in your inaugural, it is colorblind and merit-based."
"The era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department, and we need the best and brightest, whether it's in our air traffic control or whether it's in our generals, whether it's throughout government," Hegseth said.
No other official, including in Trump's administration, had raised diversity as an issue prior to the president.
Buttigieg on social media called Trump "despicable."
"As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying," he said. "We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch. President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."