Trump admits 'we don’t know it was the controller’s fault' after blaming DEI for air crash

Late Thursday morning, January 30, President Donald Trump gave a press briefing on the air crash that occurred near Washington, DC when a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people.

Recovery teams are searching the Potomac River for possible survivors, but officials are saying they believe that no one survived the collision.

Some MAGA Republicans, including Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee), are blaming DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) for the tragedy. But Trump, during the press briefing, admitted to not knowing if it was the controller's fault.

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The president claimed that during his first term as president, his administration adhered to high aviation standards — and that the Biden Administration later undermined them.

"We had the highest standard that you could have," Trump told reporters, "and then they changed it back. That was Biden…. And then, I changed it back a few days ago. And unfortunately, that was — we'll see. We don't know that necessarily, it's even the controller's fault. But one thing we do know: There was a lot of vision, and people should have been able to see that, you know, at what point do you stop? At what point do you say, wow, that plane is getting a little bit close?"

Trump continued, "So, this is a tragedy. It should not have happened."

During the press conference, Trump speculated on how the collision might have been avoided.

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The president told reporters, "They shouldn't have been at the same height, because if it wasn't the same height, you could have gone under it or over it, and nobody realized, or they didn't say that it's at the same height…. But it was exactly at the same height, and somebody should have been able to point that out."

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Watch the full video below or at this link.