Donald Trump and critics are butting heads in a classic game of who’s to blame following the aviation tragedy. The incident occurred on Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport. An American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair, resulting in multiple casualties.
According to reports, the plane carried sixty passengers and four crew members while three soldiers were on the helicopter. Eighteen bodies had been recovered by 1 a.m. ET and Trump addressed the heartbreaking situation in a statement. The president prayed for the lost souls and thanked first responders for their recovery efforts. Trump dropped his poignant statement on the White House letterhead about two hours after the crash.
However, he sang a different tune shortly after on his Truth Social media platform. The president implied the helicopter and air traffic control tower were to blame for the incident. According to the US leader, the airplane had not strayed off the “perfect and routine line of approach to the airport.” Instead, the helicopter flew straight at the plane for a long time without getting warned to change course. “It is a CLEAR NIGHT. The lights on the plane were blazing. Why didn’t the helicopter go up or down or turn?” Trump argued.
“Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” Trump concluded. The cause of the collision has not been revealed, but a webcam positioned at the Kennedy Center captured the collision, per Mediaite.
Critics Blame President Donald Trump for the Tragic Midair Collision
Following Trump’s comments about the cause of the tragedy, critics called him out for failing to see his involvement. These conspiracy theorists blamed the collision on his administration, with someone listing three of his offenses. They slammed him for firing the head of the Transportation Security Administration and the entire Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
As for his third crime, the critic alleged Trump froze the hiring of Air Traffic Controllers. Another claimed the midair collision “was the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 9/11.” Additionally, they shared a news headline about Trump firing key aviation safety personnel and other staffers. A third directly blamed the president for the incident, writing:
“Unacceptable. How many times has this man caused Americans to suffer the consequences of his rash, stupid actions? Who’s responsible for the accident in DC today? Why did a commercial airplane crash into a military chopper? Because the old troll has fired the people responsible for air traffic safety.”
The negative responses come at the heels of raving reviews about Trump’s administration. We covered fans’ support of the president after he declared his plan to abolish income tax. During a Florida conference, the president proposed “taxing foreign nations” to enrich the lives of Americans. To achieve this, he announced the establishment of the External Revenue Service.
Will President Donald Trump’s recent comments about the aviation tragedy cost him more supporters?
