President Trump responds to plane crash on the Potomac
WASHINGTON (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - "We're here for you to wipe away the tears," President Donald Trump said during a press conference at the White House.
After a few words of comfort, President Trump infused political heat into tragedy: "I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first."
It was a very different tone than the one struck 40 years ago by former President Ronald Reagan, who was the last Republican president to confront a plane crash on the Potomac.
"We saw a partnership, yes. The agencies and departments of government responsible in times of emergency were there. The heroism of the firemen in the icy waters is well known to all of us," Reagan said.
President Trump used the majority of his remarks Thursday to claim diversity efforts led to lower aviation hiring standards put in place by Democrats and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
"[Buttigieg]'s a disaster now...The Department of Transportation, his government agency charged with regulating civil aviation. While he runs it, 45,000 people, and he's run it right into the ground with his diversity," Trump said.
When asked, Trump offered no evidence that the air controllers or pilots were unfit for the jobs they held.
Dismantling diversity programs was a campaign promise by Trump, so too was remaking the federal government.
In Miami, Washington, and Las Vegas, several top FBI leaders were forced to resign or retire, with other investigators expecting to be fired even before Trump's pick to run the FBI is confirmed.
In addition, hundreds of State Department contractors were terminated with more to come as Trump froze foreign aid programs, triggering financial crises across a wide array of programs, like AIDS Relief.
