Senate Democrat: Trump DEI remarks in wake of DC plane crash 'stomach-turning'

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said during an interview that President Trump’s criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the wake of the plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were “stomach-turning" and “damaging.”

“The president was asked whether he had any evidence backing up that outrageous and stomach-turning claim, and he had to acknowledge that he did not. Imagine you‘re a family member and you‘ve just lost a loved one, and you‘re grappling with answers and you‘re trying to figure out, and you have the president of the United States trying to blame people for political reasons or cast aspersions on folks alleging that they were DEI hires,” Kaine said during a Thursday appearance on CNN.

“I mean, can you imagine a more damaging thing to hear if you‘re suffering already than a president trying to make political hay out of something like this?” he asked.

Trump seemed to blame DEI initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for being a factor in the deadly Wednesday night collision between an American Airlines flight carrying 64 passengers and a military helicopter with three service members. No one survived the crash.

“Brilliant people have to be in those positions,” Trump said earlier on Thursday, citing the FAA’s effort to bring in workers with disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, dwarfism and missing limbs.

“A group within the FAA determined that the workforce was too white, then they had concerted efforts to get the administration to change that and to change it immediately,” the president said from the White House briefing room. “This was in the Obama administration.”

“They were still searching for bodies in the Potomac when he was running off at the mouth about this. I hope somebody asked President Trump why he scrapped the VA, why he decided on January 22nd to scrap the aviation safety board and advisory board at the Department of Homeland Security,” Kaine said.

“The order scrapping that advisory board said that it was not consistent with the agency‘s mission toward national security. What an odd thing to say that air safety is not connected to national security,” he added on Thursday. “I hope someone will ask the president the question about why he decided to do that.”

Trump has looked to eliminate DEI hiring practices and programs from the federal government since taking the Oval Office less than two weeks ago, including placing all federal workers within those programs on administrative leave.

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