Trump Responds To D.C. Midair Collision And It’s Anything But Presidential

Donald Trump reacted strangely to the tragic news of a plane crash in Washington on Wednesday night.


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The tragic events in Washington Wednesday night, when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter near Reagan National Airport, were still being pieced together by the following morning.

However, as the first major tragic news event of Donald Trump’s second time in office, it reminded many observers of how strangely Trump, as president, reacts to news events.

As of Thursday morning, it was believed that all aboard both aircraft had perished. Trump was expected to address the tragedy from the White House briefing room on Thursday.

However, those won’t be Trump’s first comments on the crash. He had a whole post on Truth Social about it on Wednesday night:

“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,” Trump said in the post. “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 control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

This drew a rebuke from Amy McGrath, the former Democratic Senate candidate from Kentucky:

Trump, in the early days of his presidency, gutted the leadership of the airline safety apparatus. Per The Daily Beast, Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Whitaker was forced to resign on January 20, months after Elon Musk had demanded he quit. The heads of the TSA and Coast Guard were also removed in the early days of the Trump presidency.

This reminded many people of how Trump reacts to news events, even as president. He’s the president of the United States. He has access to classified briefings and all sorts of non-public information. Nevertheless, he reacts to breaking news like a private citizen, following the events on TV like everyone else.

That is how quite a few people reacted to the reaction:

Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library. 



Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy.

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