ANALYSIS — President Donald Trump largely blamed — without evidence — the deadly collision of an Army Blackhawk helicopter and a passenger airliner near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Democratic officials, contending Thursday that fault lay with their push for greater diversity among air traffic controllers.
The often-bombastic president began a hastily announced appearance in the White House briefing room, his first in over four years, very much in the role of consoler in chief as crews worked to manage the wreckage of the Sikorsky H-60 aircraft and American Eagle Flight 5342, which left no survivors, the president said.
“I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation. … We take solace in the knowledge that their journey ended, not in the cold waters of the Potomac, but in the warm embrace of a loving God,” Trump said of the victims of the tragedy. “We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we’ll probably state those opinions now.”
