The 25 most eye-popping lines from Donald Trump's off-the-rails remarks on the DC plane crash
Whoa boy.
This morning, I talked about how Donald Trump’s initial response to the mid-air collision of a passenger plane and a helicopter at Reagan National Airport was, at the least, unorthodox.
Little did I know that Trump would blow WAY past “unorthodox” in remarks he made about the tragedy from the White House around midday.
What started as a traditional presidential speech in the wake of this sort of disaster turned into something much, much darker.
I went through the entire transcript of Trump’s remarks — including responses to questions he took from journalists — line by line. The lines from Trump you need to see are below.
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To the Lines!
“I speak to you this morning in an hour of anguish for our nation.”
Yes! Good start. This is exactly, I think, what people want from a commander-in-chief in a moment like his. Empathy. Comfort. And away we go!
“And I have to say the local, state, federal military, including the United States Coast Guard in particular, they've done a phenomenal job. So quick, so fast. It was -- it was mobilized immediately.”
Again, this is right on tonally. First responders working across three jurisdictions — DC, Maryland and Virginia — leapt into action amid freezing waters and the challenges of a night rescue. Good on Trump for recognizing their efforts.
“On behalf of the First Lady, myself, and 340 million Americans, our hearts are shattered alongside yours and our prayers are with you now and in the days to come. We'll be working very, very diligently in the days to come. We're here for you to wipe away the tears and to offer you our devotion, our love, and our support.”
So far, so good. Trump is reading off the teleprompter, sticking to the script. As he should in a moment this emotionally fraught.
“In moments like this, the differences between Americans fade to nothing compared to the bonds of affection and loyalty that unite us all, both as Americans and even as nations. We are one family, and today, we are all heartbroken.”
Exactly right. In moments like his we are reminded of our common humanity. What separates us politically is nothing compared to what unites us as people.
“We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas, and I think we'll probably state those opinions now because over the years, I've watched as things like this happen, and they say, ‘Well, we're always investigating,’ and then, the investigation three years later, they announce it.”
Er, ok. Again, I give Trump some leeway because his lack of willingness to operate within political norms has clearly resonated with a big part of the public. But laying blame while bodies are still being pulled from the water feels, well, gross?
“We must have only the highest standards for those who work in our aviation system. I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best, to extraordinary. You remember that.”
He’s starting to get into dangerous territory here. This isn’t — at least not today — about how Barack Obama had bad air traffic controllers and Trump appointed good ones. Because we don’t know yet whether the air traffic controllers actually bear any blame for this crash.
“And then, 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. Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse.”
The tonal shift from the start of the speech to this is jarring. It doesn’t take much dot-connecting to see that Trump is trying to blame Obama and Joe Biden for this accident. And, again, we have NO idea whether air traffic controllers were in error in this incident.
And, honestly, he was only getting going. It got way, way worse….
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