In the aftermath of a tragic midair collision over Reagan National Airport, President Donald Trump seethed at former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Do you know how badly everything runs since he’s run this Department of Transportation?” Trump said during a press conference at the White House on Jan. 31. “He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster now. He’s just got a good line of bullshit.”
Trump blamed the collision — which claimed the lives of 64 passengers aboard a commercial airline and three U.S. Army soldiers in a helicopter — on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) hiring practices, particularly provisions that accommodate people with disabilities.
When asked how he could come to such a quick conclusion without evidence, the president responded, “because I have common sense.”
Meanwhile, Buttigieg wasted no time in countering Trump’s insults.
“Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first. Drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch,” Buttigieg posted on X. “Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again.”
