Politics
WATCH: CNN Host Appears To Blame President Trump For American Airlines Tragedy
CNN’s Abby Phillip appeared to suggest that President Donald Trump was to blame for the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a military helicopter less than an hour after the tragedy was first reported.
“Look, it’s January 29th. We are just nine days out from a presidential transition, an administrative transition. The FAA administrator resigned at the end of the Biden administration. So there is no permanent confirmed FAA administrator right now,” Phillip said. “This is going to be a time when there’s going to be a lot of public communication and a lot of investigation of what happened here,” she added, seemingly suggesting that the Trump Administration is to blame.
“What do you anticipate this transition period is going to mean for what happens today and tomorrow and in the coming days as we find out what happened here?” Phillip asked former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo, who later dismissed the suggestion. “Air traffic controllers do not come and go with the change of an administration … The politics of the situation should have had no impact whatsoever on air traffic controllers,” Schiavo said in a follow-up segment.
CNN contributor made a similar suggestion, pointing to President Trump’s executive order that instituted a hiring freeze for federal workers. “8 days ago,” Sellers wrote in an X post less than an hour after the crash.
After backlash, Sellers deleted the post and issued an apology. “I deleted the post because timing matters. Politics at this point does not. I fu**ed up, I own that. I am very prayerful but I’m also very frustrated upset and disturbed with where we are as a country. I recognize, and I will do better,” Sellers wrote in a follow-up post. “The only thing that matters is rescuing the survivors, and ensuring this never happens again.”
U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) also appeared to blame President Trump for the tragedy by pointing to the hiring freeze. “Praying for the families and demanding answers,” she wrote in an X post.
American Airlines has confirmed that there were 60 passengers and four crew members onboard the Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet, which was getting ready to land after traveling from Wichita, Kansas at the time of the crash. The aircraft collided with a military UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter, which is believed to have had at least three U.S. soldiers onboard.
The Army has confirmed that the helicopter was conducting a training flight at the time of the collision. “We can confirm that the aircraft involved in tonight’s incident was an Army UH-60 helicopter from Bravo Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, out of Davison Army Airfield, Fort Belvoir during a training flight,” a senior military official told NBC News.
Fox News has reported that at least 18 bodies have been recovered as of this report. Radio transmissions from one of the first rescue boats on scene indicate that there were “no viable survivors” visible in the water, with the boat adding that two bodies had been recovered onboard.
NBC Washington D.C. is reporting that the aircraft broke in half before plunging into the Potomac River, where water temperatures were measured at 35 degrees, according to the nearest buoy to the crash site. The aircraft is submerged in roughly seven feet of water, while the helicopter flipped upside down while falling into the river.
A press conference is expected within the hour, though it is unknown which agencies, federal officials or lawmakers will be participating in it. Emergency crews have reported that they are still treating the situation as a “search and rescue operation” as of this report.
Both President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have confirmed that they have been briefed on the situation and have offered prayers for the victims and first responders. “I been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan National Airport. May God Bless their souls,” President Trump announced in a statement. “Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders. I am monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.”
This is a developing story.
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