Trump opened his White House press conference by speaking of the nation’s anguish.
However, he then launched into an extended broadside against DEI, aiming directly at Biden’s openly gay transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said.
The message was hammered home as Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, and new defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, took turns at the podium to repeat – without evidence – the hard-right theory that diversity measures keep capable Americans out of responsible jobs.
Asked again by reporters whether he was blaming workplace diversity for the crash, Trump answered: “It could have been.”
Buttigieg responded on X, calling Trump “despicable”.
“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” he said.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posted that Trump’s comments “blaming the FAA’s hiring of women and black people for the crash – was disgusting”.
“He’s in charge. This happened on his watch,” Murphy said.
Trump doubled down, however, later issuing an official memo directing the government to investigate “deterioration in hiring standards” under Biden and “replacement” of anyone unqualified.
SKATERS AMONG VICTIMS
Among those on the airliner were several US skaters and coaches, US Figure Skating said. Officials in Moscow also confirmed the presence of Russian couple Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the 1994 World Pairs title.
Two Chinese citizens were also among the victims of the crash, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday in Beijing, citing the Chinese embassy.
The force of the collision soon made it clear that survivors were unlikely.
“I just saw a fireball and it was gone,” one air traffic controller was heard telling a colleague after communication with the helicopter was cut.
Transport officials said both aircraft were on standard flight patterns on a clear night with good visibility.
And Hegseth said the chopper had “a fairly experienced crew that was doing a required annual night evaluation”.
