What happened
President Donald Trump claimed without evidence Thursday that efforts by his Democratic predecessors to recruit more diverse, and especially disabled, air traffic controllers contributed to Wednesday night's deadly midair collision between an Army Blackhawk helicopter and a passenger jet landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. None of the 64 people on the plane or three on the helicopter survived, making it the deadliest U.S. air crash since November 2001.
Who said what
"I put safety first," Trump told reporters at a White House briefing. "Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first." He asserted that before he returned to office, the Federal Aviation Administration was "actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems," under a "diversity and inclusion hiring initiative." But those policies were in place throughout his first term, The Washington Post said, and it was on his watch, in 2019, that "the FAA began a program to hire air traffic controllers with the conditions that Trump decried."
Trump has a "long record" of using tragedies to "buttress his own political standing or attempt to damage that of his opponents," Politico said. But these were "some of the most extraordinary public statements he has ever made," especially in "equating diversity with incompetence," The New York Times said. When "dumbfounded" reporters asked if he had any evidence DEI played a role, Trump said "it just could have been." Asked again, he said it was "common sense."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Trump named Chris Rocheleau acting head the FAA, after Elon Musk forced the resignation of FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker "on Inauguration Day," one year into his five-year term, Politico said. Whitaker had proposed fining Musk's SpaceX company. The National Transportation Safety Board said it would release the preliminary results of its investigation within 30 days.
-
Western Alaska reels as storm aftermath prompts mass evacuationsUNDER THE RADAR Alaskan lawmakers point to climate change as airlifts relocate hundreds from coastal communities devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong
-
Sudoku hard: October 17, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Codeword: October 17, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in VenezuelaSpeed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying
-
‘Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young RepublicansSpeed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votesspeed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections
-
Venezuela: Does Trump want war?Feature Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and waging a narco-terrorism campaign against the United States
