During a briefing with journalists in the White House about Wednesday’s deadly midair collision, President Trump extended prayers to journalists.
Breitbart reported that President Trump offered prayers for the journalists in the White House briefing room as President Trump addressed the deadly midair collision.
According to RSBN, an American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members had collided with an Army helicopter that was on a training flight near the Ronald Reagan National Airport. The USA Today confirmed that there were no survivors and that 67 people were killed in the collision. The fatal accident saw a massive recovery effort in the Potomac River.
During the press briefing on Thursday at the White House, President Trump began by asking for a moment of silence to honor the victims. According to CBS News, President Trump had told journalists, “I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation,” and added somberly, “Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history.”
At the end of his remarks, President Trump extends his prayers to all journalists in the room, saying, “God bless everyone in this room.”
Investigations are still underway as to why the collision happened in the first place on a clear night. Both crews were described as experienced, and RSBN reported that President Trump’s newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told the press, “Everything was standard in the leadup to the crash.”
President Trump also spoke a bit about the potential causes of the collision and highlighted the problems with the Federal Aviation Administration hiring process that caused a “confluence of bad decisions.”
USA Today reported that in his remarks, President Trump slammed the hiring FAA hiring practices, saying, “The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.”
He also noted that he had already signed an executive order banning DEI hiring in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure they hire based on competence so something like this doesn’t happen again.