American Airlines subsidiary, PSA, and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided killing 67 people in Washington DC. President Trump’s response was entirely unacceptable.
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AA 5342 And Black Hawk Helicopter Crash in DC
President Trump’s Response
President Trump commented on Truth Social and rebroadcasted on X shortly after the crash was reported by news.
The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. 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…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 30, 2025
This is an example of shooting from the hip foolishness and it’s the wrong answer point blank.
The only thing to say is what he later posted the next morning:
I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.
Donald…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 30, 2025
There is a duty in this situation to be cautious, to demonstrate compassion and understanding, and to enable and empower teams to do their jobs in rescue operations and investigations. It’s not more complex than that.
I can understand the curiosity, the oddity of the situation, and the feelings of upset and anger from learning of the horror that took place just short of runway 33 at DCA. But that’s no excuse. And this Trump’s second time in office with plenty of experience handling complex, tragic situations where the facts simply aren’t known when it’s time to make some sort of a statement.
Had another key leader responded in the same way, as many did, they should do so in a manner consistent with the power and prestige of their office, and the humility that they don’t yet know enough to comment on specifics.
Others Handled It Appropriately
From Secretary of Defense to fellow airlines, just about everyone else took the high road.
DoD actively monitoring. Poised to assist if needed. Prayers for all involved. https://t.co/qoFy90q22K
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) January 30, 2025
Imported video from Vimeo pic.twitter.com/6SkJURfh6K
— American Patriot (@TheBlueMonde) January 30, 2025
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking incident. pic.twitter.com/aZoUDoUzf5
— Qantas (@Qantas) January 30, 2025
Conclusion
Matthew covered this topic here and from what I can tell, we agree. There’s a time and place to discuss theories and it’s not in the moments after a horrific ordeal that took 67 lives. There were irregularities that need to be investigated. We know very little at this point in time, and while there are theories, questions, and circumstances, it’s unacceptable to respond in this manner. The tower may have been short staffed – does that mean it’s the tower’s fault? No. The Black Hawk helicopter pilot might have been at the wrong altitude, is it unequivocally their fault? Who knows. It’s a sad, unfortunate situation that should be met with reasonable skepticism and an abundance of caution and compassion. President Trump failed himself, his government, the military, the people of this great nation, and the families of all involved when a simple “thoughts and prayers” would have done.
What do you think?
Such a devastating tragedy. I agree that the President’s response to the crash falls short, especially in the face of such a large loss of life. It’s crucial for leaders to show empathy and leadership during times like these. The focus should always be on the victims and their families, and offering condolences should be a priority. Looking forward to hearing more about how the situation develops and any updates on how the families are being supported.
If Criminal Trump had any decency and honour about him he would stand down in the wake of his comments about AA 5342 but then again, if he had any decency and honour, he would never have stood to be president anyway and that should have been obvious to voters who were taken in by him in number. It has happened before, 1930s Germany springs to mind and it will happen again.
US citizens now have three years and forty nine weeks to repent at leisure for their choices while he damages the reputation of you and your country on the world stage alongside those cronies he has brought to power.
I’ve always wondered why people who have made a lot of money in one relatively narrow field think that either means they are intelligent or have common sense because it doesn’t in the main apply. Looking at Musk here.
Enjoy US or should we call it North Mexico now or maybe South Canada?
@Kyle … Military experience here : This sort of helicopter has Four quadrants of vision : front left , front right , rear left , and rear right . One of the rear quadrants was being observed ; and one was Not being observed . Four crewmen are needed to observe all Four quadrants . There was only One crew chief in the rear . This sort of helicopter needs Two men the rear , to observe both of the rear quadrants . The helicopter needed Four crew to observe all Four quadrants of vision .
The news says that the ATC uses one ATC for the aircraft landing , and one for the aircraft departing , and one for the other helicopter traffic . At some point some ATC went home , and left the burden of the job on ATC remaining.
Obvious facts : too much air traffic , too many aircraft , too much growth of air travel for too much profit .
P.S. @Kyle … I fail to understand how @Kyle , Ranting against Trump in headline and conclusion , contributes anything to a rational discussion of the accident .
While you are correct that Trump was injudicious in his quick comment , he was NOT such a “Failure” as you describe in your headline and conclusion .
Trump did not depend on Public Relations manipulators to write his quick comment . That seems to be @Kyle’s complaint , and for that , @Kyle calls him a “Failure” . Do better @Kyle .
You are writing as if this is a new side of him. Seriously? If this were an isolated blunder that’s one thing. But how many years, how many insults, how many lies and sensationalist insanity is necessary for you to realize that you, Kyle, are actually part of the problem. You enable him with your support and have turned a blind eye to his horrid actions over these years. So stop with this crap. You own it. You own the hell he is bringing to this nation and the world. This is not something new. It’s who he is. Good luck sleeping at night knowing what you have done.
There’s no ‘problem’ as such. People vote en masse for this stuff, populism is a feature of democracy, not a bug.
Populism is the movement of the weak and uneducated. Just as in Germany in the 1930’s. Not that your response has anything to do with what I’ve said.
The whole point of democracy is to give decision-making power to the weak and uneducated. I think your comment gave too much credit/agency to the likes of Kyle- I agree with your view that electoral success by the likes of Trump is a symptom of a more nuanced/complex problem/situation, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that there’s a defined group of people responsible for that.
So then helicopter flew ITSELF into to airplane?
They killed 64 civilians.