As the US reeled from one of the deadliest plane crashes in a generation, Donald Trump went on an unhinged rant and, without any evidence, blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety. 67 people are presumed dead after a US Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight collided mid-air killing all people onboard the aircrafts. At least 28 bodies, including all three soldiers who were on the helicopter, were pulled from the freezing waters of the Potomac River as recovery operations continue.

As grieving families and loved ones were coming to terms with the horrific tragedy, Donald Trump stood before the White House on Thursday and said the country was in mourning. He offered his condolences to those affected and paid tribute to emergency services and victims. However, just moments later, he quickly started to point the blame at the Diversity, equity and inclusion programs that have "lowered standards" for hiring air traffic controllers in the Federal Aviation Administration during the presidencies of Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Trump and his fellow Republicans have regularly attacked "diversity, equity and inclusion" programmes in the federal government.

But just less than 24 hours after one of the deadliest plane crashes in more than a decade, Trump, along with his vice-president, baselessly blammed federal hiring practices despite having no evidence for this. Pressed by journalists on why he blamed diversity programmes for the crash when the investigation had only just begun, the president responded: "Because I have common sense." But then later he refused to elaborate and said: "it's all under investigation".

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) was created to prevent discrimination of women, people of colour, and marginalized groups. It ensures people are considered for jobs on equal grounds and to create an inclusive work enviornment. For example, diversity is embracing the differences everyone has, whether it is race, age, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual oritentation. Equity is treating everyone fairly and providing equal opportunities. Inclusion is creating a culture where people from all backgrounds can express their ideas and experiences.

During the chaotic press conference yesterday, Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden’s administration for encouraging the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.” He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”.

Trump did not share any evidence that unqualified people were being put in critical positions like air traffic control, and he acknowledged that there was as yet no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes. Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Trump said, “because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”. Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be brilliant to ensure safety. “They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”.

Trump, along with fellow Republicans, have long wanted to get rid of DEI, despite it being created to address systemic inequities faced by certain groups. They believe it is discriminatory and promote left-wing ideology. During his campaign for president, Trump vowed to end “wokeness” and “leftist indoctrination” in education. He promised to dismantle diversity programs that he says amount to discrimination and to impose fines on colleges “up to the entire amount of their endowment.”.

However, DEI supporters say the programs are necessary to ensure that institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations and the impact of the loss of these measures goes beyond people of colour. Trump signed an executive order that would get rid of DEI from all aspects of the federal government just days into his presidency. Dozens of diversity, equity and inclusion programs have already closed in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and other states. Almost 200 diversity, equity and inclusion staff positions were either cut or reassigned across North Carolina’s public university system. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees in May approved diverting £1.3 million of state funds for advancing diversity to public safety and policing. Texas’ 2023 law led to the University of Texas cutting 300 full- and part-time positions and eliminating more than 600 programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion training.

Supporters of DEI believe the push to get rid of DEI is to "maintain white supermacy", according to Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause. After Trump signed an executive order to scrap DEI, she said: “To the people who oppose us, the ones who attack DEI, they have tried to bastardize that acronym. Instead, they want to diminish and exterminate and incapacitate progress towards a multiracial democracy to maintain white supremacy and concentration of wealth.”.