Politicizing A National Tragedy
The Oasis Reporters
January 31, 2025
Axios
By Meanwhile In America (CNN
There is a good reason why American commercial airliners have safely flown billions of miles since the last major tragedy.
Every incident, near-miss or accident is minutely investigated, without rushed conclusions, political bias or uninformed speculation. The result is an industry based on multiple layers of redundancy, faithfully followed safety protocols, pilot checklists and codes of practice that have made the unnatural business of humans taking to the skies safer even than climbing into a car.
President Donald Trump on Thursday ignored all those principles when addressing the disaster in Washington’s crowded skies the night before, in one of the most staggering spectacles in the White House briefing room since his last term.
In his first national crisis since re-assuming the presidency, he put his political goals and need for adulation above the need to find untainted answers about the catastrophe and over the indescribable pain of victims’ families.
After reading a written statement marking the loss of more than 60 passengers on the American Airlines jet and the three personnel on an Army helicopter, Trump switched from calling for national unity to stirring division.
“In moments like this, the differences between Americans fade to nothing compared to the bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all, both as Americans and even as nations,” Trump said.
Mere moments later, he began dishing out partisanship and speculation.
“I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first, and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen, because this was the lowest level,” Trump said.
With bodies still being pulled from the Potomac, Trump blamed diversity hiring in the air traffic control industry for the crash and claimed it was due to former President Joe Biden’s policies.
“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,” Trump said. In the context of his earlier remarks, his comment implied that only White males are suitable for keeping planes in the sky.
Trump ended his briefing by assuring the public it’s safe to fly. Though anyone watching and listening to the previous half hour might wonder.
“I’m not blaming the controller, I’m saying there are things that you could question, like the height of the helicopter, the height of the plane, being at the same level and going in opposite directions. It’s not a positive,” he said.
“But no, flying is very safe. We have the safest flying anywhere in
the world and we’ll keep it that way.”
By CNN
