On Wednesday night, a passenger airliner carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter in mid-air as it was landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, resulting in the tragic deaths of everyone on board both aircraft, including 14 U.S. figure skaters. In response, President Donald Trump, without providing any evidence, blamed the Federal Aviation Administration’s diversity requirements.
During a press conference on Thursday, Trump attributed the crash to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) hiring practices at the FAA, mentioning that the incident “could have been” a result of DEI without citing supporting evidence or specific examples. A reporter challenged him, asking, “On DEI and the claims that you have made, are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring, and what evidence have you seen to support these claims?” Trump merely responded, “It just could have been,” as reported.
He further asserted that his administration previously used “very powerful tests” that he claims were eliminated by Biden, who he alleged adopted standards that were “the exact opposite.” Yet, Trump failed to present any evidence or examples of these so-called “powerful tests.” When pressed about how he could link DEI to the crash while investigators were still uncovering the basic facts, Trump claimed, “Because I have common sense,” according to the New York Times.
Following Trump’s remarks, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth began their own press conferences by praising Trump’s leadership and expressing intentions to eliminate diversity requirements, again without presenting evidence linking DEI to the crash.
The victims included 14 U.S. figure skaters, among them six members of The Skating Club of Boston, as announced by CEO Doug Zeghibe during a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 30. The victims from The Skating Club of Boston were identified as two teens, Spencer Lane and Jinna Han, their mothers, Molly Lane and Jin Han, along with two coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the latter two being the 1994 World Champions.
