MIRIAM NNOLI 
Following the plane crash near Washington, DC on Thursday, President Donald Trump of the United States (US) has blasted the past administrations led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden, alongside the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) initiatives within the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation.
Addressing newsmen in the White House Press Room, Trump while performing a traditional presidential duty said the country was in mourning, shared his condolences during an hour of anguish, and paid tribute to first responders and the victims.
Trump further speculated that lowered standards of hiring for air traffic controllers in the Federal Aviation Administration during the Joe Biden and Barack Obama presidencies may have been a factor in the disaster.
READ ALSO
- 30 Killed As Plane, Helicopter Collide In Washington DC
- Tinubu Condoles US Govt Over Plane, Helicopter Crash
- Trump To Transfer Undocumented Immigrants To Guantanamo
The President along with his secretaries of transportation and defense, and his vice-president JD Vance took turns hammering their point, even as they provided no evidence that federal hiring practices had any connection to this particular crash.
“I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary. Only the highest aptitude. They have to be the highest intellect and psychological aptitude that were allowed to be qualified for air traffic controllers.”
New Telegraph recalls that the plane, American Airlines Flight 5342, with 60 passengers and four crew on board, had a midair collision with a Black Hawk Army helicopter on Wednesday, January 29.
