The US was left stunned and heartbroken after a Black Hawk Army Helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight with over 60 people aboard near Ronald Reagan National Airport at 8:48 pm Wednesday night.
64 people were on the American Airlines flight and 3 people were aboard the Black Hawk Army Helicopter. There were no survivors.
In a completely unsurprisingly move, President Donald Trump immediately responded to the catastrophic news with a barrage of social media posts that left an extremely bad taste in the mouths of Americans across the nation.
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. 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!!!”
The tragedy serves as the country’s worst crash since February 2009 and currently remains under investigation amid massive upheaval and chaos throughout the government agencies responsible for air safety and investigations into the matter, on the heels of Mike Whitaker’s January 20th resignation as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was sworn into the position only one day before the fatal air crash while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was just sworn in on Saturday.
Donald Trump’s immature, unprofessional, and outlandish social media speculations on the catastrophe were not met with much praise or confidence from the American people.
Journalist Robert Evans wrote, “I guess this is better than Trump saying ‘this situation should not have been prevented, figure-skating children are the new al Qaeda and this war will demand sacrifices from us all.'”
i guess this is better than trump saying “this situation should not have been prevented, figure-skating children are the new al Qaeda and this war will demand sacrifices from us all”
— Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) (@iwriteok.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 1:37 AM
“If this plane crash had happened four months ago, Trump would be insisting it was caused by DEI hires and blaming the Biden administration repeatedly, while the media credulously amplified the lies,” said journalist Noah Berlatsky. “Making up claims like that is irresponsible and horrible, not least because it’s painful for the families involved. It certainly seems like Ds could point out that Trump is gutting federal capacity, and that will lead to many more accidents like this one, though.”
if this plane crash had happened four months ago, Trump would be insisting it was caused by DEI hires and blaming the Biden administration repeatedly, while the media credulously amplified the lies. 1
— Noah Berlatsky (@nberlat.bsky.social) January 29, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Democratic influencers, the Krassentstein brothers, said, “I’m not blaming Trump for last night’s crash but imagine if Biden fired 100 FAA officers a week prior to a plane crash. What would Fox News cover for the next two weeks?”
— Krassensteins (@krassenstein.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 5:36 AM
Countless other American citizens, public figures, and experts weighed in on Trump’s public display of immaturity and stark reminder of what we’re in for, for the next four years:
The head of the FAA had imposed fines on Musk and SpaceX for violating air safety regulations. Musk forced the FAA head to resign because he “over-regulated” air safety requirements. At the time of the Potomac plane crash Trump had not replaced the FAA Administrator.
http://www.space.com/faa-fining-s…
— DianaResists (@dianaresists.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 6:20 AM
This is not what the President of the United States should be doing right now. Not now. And if you can’t understand why this is not what he should be doing right now, then I feel sorry for you. My God, he is such an utterly horrible human being.
— Joe Walsh (@walshfreedom.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Dems should call for immediate hearings on what caused tonight’s plane crash, including the impact of the removal of FAA safety protocols and personnel. https://t.co/2xZEeqxdoc
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 30, 2025
Think about this and how Fox and the GOP would politicize an Army helicopter crashing into a commercial airplane days after a Black woman president tried to gut air safety & installed the least qualified man ever as Defense Secretary.
THAT is the degree to which Dems should politicize this crash.
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 6:02 AM
I just want to know why Pete Hegseth has yet to show up before a camera — whatever the cause of the accident, the Black Hawk would have had more ability to avert it.
Was he drunk in a gutter when this went down?
— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 6:10 AM
But perhaps the most pointed statement came from SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah, who wrote, “If Trump’s freeze on federal funding caused the airplane crash in Wash DC, then Trump should be criminally investigated for murder. Same for Trump’s Secty of Defense. Their actions appear to have killed Americans.”
If Trump’s freeze on federal funding caused the airplane crash in Wash DC, then Trump should be criminally investigated for murder. Same for Trump’s Secty of Defense. Their actions appear to have killed Americans.
— Dean Obeidallah (@deanobeidallah.bsky.social) January 30, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Featured image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore, under Creative Commons license 2.0