Trump’s Mind on Display After Plane Crash
Trump's reaction to the air disaster is telling in a variety of ways.
I know some of this has been brought up in various comment threads, but I think several aspects of Trump’s response to the tragic collision of an American Airlines jet and military helicopter near Reagan National Airport are worth highlighting.
First, Trump’s initial comment on Truth Social about the event made me think of his claim about a “revolution of common sense” in his inaugural address.
First, this is just all irresponsible public speculation/blathering by the President of the United States at a moment of crisis. This is not how a leader, let alone the president should be behaving. If readers will pardon me from waxing overly eloquent for a moment: NOT GOOD!!!
Second, it sounds like the kind of thing a person who thinks that the world needs more “common sense” would say (usually at the end of the bar nursing a beer while commenting on breaking news on the television or similar circumstances). I mean, sure, the obvious question is why it was not possible for the two vehicles to avoid one another, but life isn’t so simple as to just ask, “Why didn’t they just not have an accident?” Definitionally, some mistake or other aspect of the situation led to the collision.
We need experts, in this case the NTSB, to figure out what went wrong. The reason that such accidents are rare is that they take them seriously and thoroughly investigate each such incident to learn what happened so as to avoid future tragedies (see occasional OTB commenter Cheryl Rofer’s post at LGM for more on this point). We don’t learn from off-the-cuff speculation.
Speaking of the role of experts, I would note that the NYT reported the control tower was understaffed:
The controller who was handling helicopters in the airport’s vicinity Wednesday night was also instructing planes that were landing and departing from its runways. Those jobs typically are assigned to two controllers, rather than one.
Now, this may or may not be relevant. But here’s what I do know: two would have been better than one. And, moreover, all of us want adequate staffing of control towers when we fly. Remember that fact when President Trump and his cronies are deriding federal employees and worrying more about loyalty to Trump or to ideological goals than to the important work they do.
And speaking of ideological goals, I would note as well the immediate attempts to link all of this to DEI, as has been the lazy go-to of many on the right wing (as they did with the crash at the Baltimore bridge and the fires in LA, to name two other cases off the top of my head).
For example, Representative Ogles (R-TN):
Let’s be clear-eyed here: the implication is that non-whites were given jobs that more qualified whites (likely male) should have gotten. But the main way we can all “know” that an “inferior” hire was made is if we find out that the person who got the job is of color, female, or somehow not just a plain ol’ “normal” white guy.
Such assertions, while couched in “meritocracy” rhetoric is all about asserting the superiority of white people. For example, here’s Trump:
“We have to have our smartest people” as air traffic controllers, Trump said Thursday morning. “It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. … They have to be talented, naturally talented. Geniuses. Can’t have regular people doing their job. We can’t have regular people doing this job. They won’t be able to do it, but we’ll restore faith in American air travel.”
No doubt supporters will just say he wants to hire “the best” so what’s the big deal? The big deal is, as noted, the clear assertion that programs that increase diversity don’t hire the best because they focus on increasing non-white, non-male hires.
Look, we can debate whether this DEI program or that has appropriate components or how efficacious it is.* But let’s face facts, going back decades-long arguments over affirmative action or any assertion that systemic racism is real, the bottom line argument made by most anti-diversity advocates is the assertion the color-blind hires that just so happen to hire mostly white males just confirms that white males are superior to other non-white, non-males rather than maybe, just maybe, reflecting other, deeper problems with discrimination.
Also, just like with the CRT hysteria, the DEI attacks are not about specific policies and procedures. It is all about a broad attack on any process that tries to recognize that
A key tell is the immediate jump after any tragedy (or just bad outcome) to shout, “It’s DEI’s fault!” without any evidence. This reveals the internal thinking (and inherent prejudice) of the person making the claim. Some readers have questioned whether Trump has an ideology. While he is clearly not a deep thinker, he clearly is guided by white supremacism.
More from Trump via the AP, Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said (and I recommend reading the whole thing).
Q: “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused as the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?”
TRUMP: “It just could have been. We have a high standard. We’ve had a much higher standard than anybody else. And there are things where you have to go by brainpower. You have to go by psychological quality, and psychological quality is a very important element of it. These are various, very powerful tests that we put to use. And they were terminated by Biden. And Biden went by a standard that seeks the exact opposite. So we don’t know. But we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened. And, we’ll see. We’re going to look into that, and we’re going to see. But certainly for an air traffic controller, we want the brightest, the smartest, the sharpest. We want somebody that’s psychologically superior. And that’s what we’re going to have.”
And apropos of my point above, the BBC reported the following.
Asked by a reporter how he could blame diversity programmes for the crash when the investigation had only just begun, the president responded: “Because I have common sense.”
The cherry on the irresponsibility sundae is a memo from the White House with the subject line, “Immediate Assessment of Aviation Safety” (which, again is not how any of this works).
Consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of January 21, 2025 (Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation), I am further ordering the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (Administrator) to review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior 4 years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards. This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden Administration.
These are the actions of irresponsible ideologues, not of people who are serious about effective government.
Some additional examples of blaming the crash on DEI.
In regards to Lara Trump, it is a rich case of utter lack of self-awareness to say that the best person should always be hired for the job. For anyone who is missing the point: she got here job because of nepotism, not her qualifications.
*To be clear, I am not saying that any and all opposition to DEI in general or that critiques of specific DEI programs equals white supremacist thinking. But I am saying that if a person’s reflexive response to a tragedy/accident is to blame diversity programs or to assume that any non-white person (or even non-male) is likely inferior is very much revealing a view that whites are “normal,” and likely qualified while non-whites are a deviation and very likely unqualified.
I would note that all of the examples provided above are of people jumping to conclusions, without evidence, that somehow programs that promote diversity promote inferiority and therefore lead to tragedy.
These are horrible people.
For the record, any urban airspace is going to be busy and the testing of the ATC is extensive for these jobs. If you are working in the control tower at a busy airport, you are already in the highest trained, most experienced, and most elite tranche of these employees.
Objection. Assuming facts not in evidence.
Lara Trunp clearly has the best mind, the most brainpower of anyone.
As does Pete Hegseth. DK nailed it the other day. The Trump administration has its own DEI program – hiring Drunk, Entitled, and Ignorant
@Kathy: Taking him not fully seriously is partly why we are where we are, yes?
Not so strange if you’re a white supremacist.
(And what other explanation makes any sense at all?)
In 2019, Trump initiated the ATC diversity program he’s now bitching about.
With Maria Bartimolo talking to some rando GQP backbencher, there was no other outcome to be expected. This is the next 4 years. And probably the 4 years from 2032-2036 unless people start taking who they vote for more seriously. The nation will probably tank enough for voters to want another “caretaker” administration in 2028, though. That’s something at least.
@CSK: Yes, I believe Matt B. linked to the actual press release on the FAA’s website yesterday, noting that the date was April 11, 2019.
I don’t have any grand ideas about how to treat people who sound like Trump. But blaming black people whenever something goes wrong is going to, at the very least, alienate everyone who is not a total moron. Maybe you shouldn’t be fired if you do this at a job. I don’t know. And the anti-DEI people are correct. It’s not like a good dose of DEI training will help Trump be less racist.
But it’s amazing that there’s been like a decade of angry men, mostly white, complaining about wokeness and how they were mistreated by the woke thought police, and there will not be a single moment of self-reflection by any of the media types who pushed this stuff, as if the angry men weren’t all basically Trump. It will be like the Iraq invasion.
@Jay L Gischer:
– Donald Trump: serially-bankrupt felon, reality TV buffoon, and Epstein-bestie rapist who incited a terror attack on Congress and publicly mused on his sexual attraction to his own daughter
– Musk: illegal immigrant Nazi oligarch
– Hegseth: wife-beating DUI hire drunk
– Kristi Noem: dog killer
– RFK Jr.: frog-voiced heroin addict w/ brain worms
– Matt Gaetz: crackhead paedofile
– Linda McMahon: WWE host
– Sean Duffy: unremarkable backbencher turned Fox News host
This clown show of nepo baby mediocrity and criminality is the dream govt of conservatives who claim hiring should be merit-based — while smearing educated, self-made blacks, women, and gays.
Trump Republicans show why DEI and affirmative action are necessary. Absent these programs, the oligarchy will only hire their gross, unqualified friends.
@Jen:
You can bet your boots that the MAGAs will blithely ignore this. So will Trump, if he even remembers.
@DK: You missed that Sean Duffy is a “Real World” reality show alum.
When asked if he would be visiting the crash site he responded
Not the most major response, but kind of the most telling. A vile man.
@Gustopher:
Thanks. Now I have to brain bleach the mental picture of Trump in swim trunks. On the other hand, if we could get a pic of Trump in swim trunks, it would pretty much guarantee a Blue wave midterm.
At least 50% of the electorate (and I suspect more) see Trump as an Alpha, a Leader. Tote everything up and the bottom line is Trump seemed like more of a take charge leader to these people than Harris did. I’m essentially certain this is true. But I’m completely flabbergasted that anyone older than a 13 year old would look at this mewling sack of shit and think “LEADER!”
I regularly hammer our resident Trump supporters for a lack of specificity in their posts.
Well, what should we expect if the administration they support cannot point to any specifics wrt to the collision?
It would be one thing if the response was, “we will not know the details until we investigate further.”
Instead, we get an appeal to ‘common sense’ that points to DEI as the cause.
Axios has the following numbers:
78% male
71% non-Hispanic White
So, absent any other information, the odds are the ATC was either male or white or both. But apparently, “common sense” would suggest the opposite?
Actual common sense would suggest that the first place to look would be the shortage of ATCs, which has been an issue for quite a while–at least since the return from the Covid slowdown. (I think it was the case before 2020 as well, but it isn’t that important.)
Just last year, CNN reported on the shortage:
Oh, and about the requirements:
Oh, look, no evidence of a sudden loosening of standards due to DEI!
Most damning: even if the Biden Admin specifically required quotas (they did not) for underrepresented groups it does not appear to have affected the pass rate.
I initially thought that one of the reasons for the shortage is that the job is one of the highest stress careers around. I see conflicting evidence on that, but did not look hard.
This does not appear to be a situation like, say, admissions to Harvard that at some point becomes zero sum when comparing candidates. I am sure there is a max capacity for spots at the FAA Academy, but that does not appear to be the problem.
Rather, the testing process does not appear to have anything beyond objective pass/fail tests. i.e. No DEI component. Moreover, and this bears repeating, the failure rate did not spike!
Hey, Trump supporters, what say you? You got something for us?
Come on, defend your guy who just used a crash that cost dozens of people their lives to score political points.
Or give me some facts to refute what I just gave you about the FAA.
Prove me wrong.
My guess? You will stay silent on this one.
Generic, vapid cowards.
@MarkedMan: I am, too; and yet, here we are.
@Gustopher:
@gVOR10:
He wouldn’t dare go swimming. He’d chicken out as soon as he dipped as much as a tiny toe on those cold waters. he’d cry like a baby (but I repeat myself), and flee for safety to his mommy. He’s a rank coward, weak, and stupid. he’d never do something that brave.
@MarkedMan:
Many people grow up with weak and/or incompetent parents. Charity begins at home and spreads abroad, and the parents/guardians should be one’s first example strong, compassionate servant leadership — including moral guidance.
It is possible to recover from instead being raised by permissive or neglectful and hypocritical bigots who sneer at “moralism.” But. Not likely.
@Kurtz:
Could they please not? Why summon demons? For what?
@MarkedMan:
@DK:
Among chimpanzees, the alpha makes a lot of noise and throws s*it around. We may be a different species, but not that much different.
@Kurtz:
The MAGAs would reply to you that you cited Axios and CNN, which are well-known tools of the Deep State, and thus purveyors of fake news.
Trump has to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.
I vaguely recall reading something the author dubbed “The Great Man Syndrome”, which is the delusion that no matter what the situation the so-afflicted encounters, he or she is convinced the situation is improved by themselves becoming involved in it. To those who suffer from this the notion that the situation might be improved by removing oneself from the situation never occurs.
It’s is a tragic condition, and common enough that everybody knows someone with a chronic case and at least one experience of themselves succumbing to this terrible, terrible disease. No cure has been found, but the condition may be improved by looking in the mirror every morning and shouting “GET OVER YOURSELF!” at least five times.
@dazedandconfused:
I’d think a lot better of him if he had been the corpse at his funeral on January 19th 2017.
@Kurtz:
Either that or just plain bad-faith BS will be proffered.
@Kathy:
Haaaaaaaaaa. True facts lol
@DK: @CSK
Hahaha. If they do, I will apologize.
But they won’t.
They have nothing they can say. Especially now that everyone is pointing out–including Fox News–that the tower was understaffed. What are they going to claim that ATCs are actually 80% minority?
As shameless as the ones who come here, I doubt they will go with the Trump approach which is to claim that Biden was hiring blind people to be air traffic controllers or blaming Obama. (Yeah, Trump did. What reason did he give? I dunno.)
But they also apparently sent another government-wide email, including to ATCs, encouraging them to move from low-productivity public jobs to high-productivity private sector jobs. (Their words).
My worry is that they will use whatever conclusions get reached to try to privatize FAA operations.
That is about as scary as it gets. Because no company will pay the salaries ATCs make. Nor would they pay to train candidates rigorously and be okay with a 40% failure rate.
And good luck filling those jobs for less money, fewer benefits, and no compulsory early retirement.
One thing I will say, I saw someone argue that Reagan fired all the ATCs and replaced them with military personnel until they got enough private recruits.
I don’t really see that is being a good idea in this case, but that is hardly a barrier to this GOP.
@Kurtz:
Canada has a private non-profit company to handle ATC ops. But, 1) it’s non-profit, 2) it was set up by the government, and 3) it’s Canadian. That’s just like the un-American trifecta.
The tinpot tyrant would want a massive publicly traded corporation that will let him cash out at the IPO, otherwise why even bother?
One the plus side, it might spur investments on high speed rail.
@Kurtz: I wouldn’t be too concerned about that. Our Congress critters are all very, very frequent flyers. Yeah, they will tolerate Trump being a dictator, but that’s to save their phony-baloney jobs (Mel Brooks ref) but on this issue it would be their own asses on the line.
@dazedandconfused:
Haha. Great ref. It immediately made me think of, “politics! [clap] politics! [clap] politics! [clap] politics! [clap] politics! [clap] The Roman Senate is the best legislature money can buy . . . It goes all the way up to the Emperor.”
At this point, I think John Belushi in that role may be preferable to what we have.
@Kurtz:
In reference to James’s post below this one, our William J. LePetomane appears to be trying to teach the people in government that he will have nothing but immediate strong, clear harumphs or it’s your ass.