After Wednesday night’s devastating airplane crash, President Trump opened his White House Press Briefing by turning straight to DEI as the cause of the collision and directing each of his secretaries to come up and also blame programs focused on increasing diversity in the workplace. Trump’s instinct to instantly turn the biggest aviation disaster in two decades into a political rally is the new standard and a clear example of how his second administration will continue to pursue these kinds of disasters.
Trump’s quick jump to blame DEI efforts was not just bad because he has turned a national incident into a political talking point, but also because he uses DEI as a disguise to attack minority groups in an official role as president. In the White House press conference, he singled out Pete Buttigieg, the nation’s first gay department head, and his “diversity” as the reason that this crash happened. Following his criticism of Buttigieg, Trump then listed out groups of people who he believed had been hired under previous programs that corrupted the intellectual integrity of the department, including “dwarves” and “people with severe mental disabilities.”
Trump has used the office of the Presidency, to directly go after minority and disabled groups, which is dangerous because it sets a precedent of discrimination coming directly from the White House, and likely will carry over into the media sphere and to other people. Examples of this include the rise in hatred against Asian communities after Trump labeled COVID as the “Chinavirus,” and the rise in discrimination against Middle Eastern communities after 9/11, the last major aviation crisis that was blamed on a minority group.
At a time when national tensions are high, and there are growing protections for “nationalist” behaviors (January 6th pardons), this disappointing move from the Trump White House continues to elevate division and provide a platform to people who attack historically subjugated communities of color.
He also used the press briefing as a test of loyalty, calling up his vice president and two department secretaries to make remarks. All three speakers quickly began by thanking the President for his analysis and “reiterating” the importance of having “qualified people” in air traffic control. Some even went straight to the DEI talking points before they offered their condolences to the victims.
The rhetoric was dangerous as well because Trump made claims that being an air traffic controller took great mind power, as he likes to refer to it, and that programs that increase diversity efforts lower the intelligence standard for people working in air traffic positions, seemingly inference that minorities are not people who are smart enough to work in air traffic control positions.
Instead of using this moment of great tragedy to bring together the nation, Trump has instead chosen to continue his violent and dangerous rhetoric, wielding the office of the President as a tool to incite hatred.
