President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon sought to blame diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the Federal Aviation Administration for a deadly midair collision Wednesday evening of American Eagle Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, near Reagan National Airport. There is no evidence to support his claim.

Speaking in a news briefing Thursday on the collision, Trump went on to cast blame on air traffic control, those in the Black Hawk helicopter, and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The cause of the plane crash remains unknown.

In a roughly 40-minute news conference, Trump claimed without evidence that the deadly airline collision was a result of diversity initiatives and the Federal Aviation Administration’s hiring of people with “severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.”

Trump said former president Joe Biden and Democrats had lowered the standards required to qualify to be an air traffic controller and that he has already raised standards back since returning to the White House last week. Trump’s immediate change to the FAA since returning to office came by signing an executive order to immediately end DEI programs – though there is no evidence that promoting DEI lowers standards.

“It just could have been,” Trump said when asked if the crash was caused by diversity hiring.

Earlier, Trump announced the appointment of a new acting Federal Aviation Administration administrator, Chris Rocheleau.

Rocheleau is the chief operating officer of the National Business Aviation Association. Trump announced the appointment during remarks about the plane crash at the White House briefing room.

Michael Whitaker stepped down as FAA administrator on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration.

At the news conference, Trump at first seemed to blame air traffic control, saying “the warnings were given very very late” and that “it should have been brought up earlier.” But then he cast blame on those in the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with the passenger plane.

“The people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going,” Trump said at a news conference. “I can’t imagine people with 20-20 vision not seeing what’s happening up there.”

Trump said he will implement “the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system.”

“When I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen, because this was the lowest level,” he claimed.

Trump ramped up his attacks on former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“Do you know how badly everything’s run since he’s run this Department of Transportation? He’s a disaster. He was a disaster as a mayor. He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster now,” Trump said.

The president did not acknowledge his administrations’ role. Vice President JD Vance, newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also took to the podium to briefly address reporters.

“What happened yesterday shouldn’t have happened,” Duffy said at the White House Thursday, vowing to implement FAA reforms that Trump dictates.

Like Trump, Duffy appeared to suggest that a staffing issue at FAA is connected to the crash, saying that the agency should only “accept the best and the brightest in positions of safety that impact the lives of our loved ones, our family members.”

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) criticized Trump for suggesting that the crash may be linked to FAA hiring policies.

“It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories,” Schumer said. “It’s another [for] the president of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families are still being notified. It just turns your stomach.”