Donald Trump has made a perplexing statement regarding the Washington plane crash that occurred near the Oval Office.
While seated at his desk, Trump was asked if he intended to visit the crash site.
“What’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?” he responded.
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A reporter suggested that he might visit the site to meet with first responders.
“I will be meeting with some individuals who were severely injured, along with their families,” Trump stated.
There are currently no reports of injuries from the crash.
All individuals aboard both the plane and the helicopter tragically lost their lives.
Emergency services are actively retrieving bodies from the Potomac River adjacent to Reagan Airport.
So far, several dozen bodies have been found.
The crash site is approximately a nine-minute drive from the White House.
Earlier today, Trump attributed the crash to issues surrounding diversity.
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Trump claimed that the Biden Administration had directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hire individuals with “severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric issues, and other mental and physical conditions,” under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.
He further asserted that this program allowed for the hiring of individuals with paralysis, epilepsy, and dwarfism.
He also alleged that during Obama’s presidency, the FAA determined the agency was “too white.”
The identity of the air traffic control operator has not been disclosed, and there has been no indication of when they were hired or if they had any disabilities.
According to US news outlet ABC, diversity initiatives do not apply to air traffic controllers, and no one is given preferential treatment.
Trump also criticized former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“He’s run it straight into the ground with his diversity initiatives,” he remarked.
Buttigieg described Trump’s comments as “despicable.”
“As families mourn, Trump should be leading, not lying. We prioritized safety, reduced near misses, expanded Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights during our tenure,” Buttigieg responded.
“President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first actions was to dismiss some key personnel who helped ensure our skies were safe.
“It’s time for the president to demonstrate actual leadership and clarify what he will do to prevent this from happening again.”
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At the time of the collision, there was one air traffic controller managing two separate tower positions, according to a source from air traffic control.
The source indicated that this setup, with one person overseeing both local and helicopter traffic, is not unusual.
The New York Times first reported that an internal, preliminary FAA report noted staffing was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”
It is estimated that sixty-seven individuals perished in the crash.
READ MORE: The recent history of plane crashes in the US
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