'You want me to go swimming?': Trump's cold remark about plane crash

Donald Trump made perplexing remarks in the Oval Office regarding the Washington plane crash. When asked if he planned to visit the crash site, Trump, sitting at his desk, responded by asking, "Where is it? In the water? You want me to go swimming?"

A reporter then suggested he visit the site to meet with first responders. In response, Trump stated, "I will be meeting with some of the people that were badly hurt, and their families." However, there have been no reports of injuries from the crash. All individuals on board the plane and helicopter have perished.

Emergency services are currently recovering victims' remains from the Potomac River near Reagan Airport, with dozens of bodies already found. The crash site is estimated to be a nine-minute drive from the White House. Previously, Trump had blamed the plane crash on diversity policies.

Trump claimed that the Biden administration encouraged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to hire "people with severe intellectual disabilities, mental problems, and other physical and mental conditions" under its diversity and inclusion hiring program. He added that the program allowed the hiring of people with paralysis, epilepsy, and dwarfism. Furthermore, he asserted that the FAA had been deemed "too white" during the Obama administration.

Currently, the identities of the air traffic controllers have not been confirmed, nor is there any indication of when they were hired or if they have any disabilities. ABC News reported that diversity initiatives do not apply to air traffic controllers, and no one has been given preferential treatment. Trump also targeted former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, accusing his diversity policies of "screwing everything up."

Buttigieg called Trump's remarks "despicable." He stated, "When families are grieving, Trump should be leading, not lying. We prioritized safety, reduced close calls, increased air traffic controllers, and had millions of flights without a single commercial airline crash during our tenure."

Buttigieg also pointed out, "President Trump now oversees the military and the FAA. One of his first acts in office was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped us keep our skies safe. Now is the time for the President to show real leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."

According to CNN, citing air traffic control sources, one controller was handling two different tower positions simultaneously when the collision occurred. The source stated that it is not uncommon for one person to handle both local and helicopter traffic. The New York Times first reported this detail, stating that an internal preliminary FAA report indicated the staffing at the time was "not normal for the time and traffic volume." It is believed that 67 people died in the crash.