Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich Says Trump Air Crash Presser Started Out ‘Somber’ — But ‘Quickly Turned Political’

Fox News Senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said President Donald Trump’s press conference on the D.C. air crash started out “somber” but “quickly turned political” — and reported some facts that refuted Trump’s claims about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.

Trump held a press briefing on Thursday morning to discuss the air crash in which an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk Army Helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport at 8:48 pm Wednesday night. All 67 souls on the two aircraft were lost.

At that press conference, he blamed former President Joe Biden and DEI for the disaster. When pressed by ABC’s Mary Bruce and CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Trump went on the attack but admitted he had no evidence to support his claims — which included a lengthy rant about the hiring of people with disabilities. He even read through a list of disabilities and falsely claimed “all qualify for the position of a controller of airplanes.”

Heinrich delivered some reporting on Thursday night’s edition of Fox News Channel’s Special Report that called out Trump’s jarring transition from somber to aggressively political — and noted some key facts.

On the hiring of disabled people, Heinrich noted 99.62 percent were for jobs other than air traffic controller and that “people with disabilities hired into mission-critical occupations must meet the same qualifications as other applicants”:

HEINRICH (voice over): What began as a somber update —

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I’d like to request a moment of silence for the victims and their families, please.

HEINRICH (voice over): — quickly turned political.

President Trump, zeroing in on DEI hiring by former democratic presidents for key federal jobs.

TRUMP: The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions, under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.

HEINRICH (voice over): Biden’s FAA exceeded its goal in fiscal year 2023. According to the annual report from the FAA Office of Civil Rights, more than 16 percent of the agency’s hires had a disability. Two percent had a so-called targeted disability, involving hearing, vision, missing extremities, paralysis, epilepsy, or severe intellectual or psychiatric disabilities. Most hires for medical officer and engineering positions. 0.38 percent for air traffic control.

Trump blamed Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

TRUMP: He ran his city into the ground, and he’s a disaster. Now, he’s just got a good line of —

HEINRICH (voice over): Who answered, “Despicable. As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew air traffic control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch.”

Outrage from Democrats.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It just turns your stomach. It was just grotesque, the way he immediately politicized — I think he owes the American people an apology.

HEINRICH (voice over): The president later said he wasn’t sure if DEI played a role in the crash, but believes incompetence may have.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you aware of any performance issues or disciplinary actions that were taken against anyone who was working the tower last night or flying the plane?

TRUMP: No, no. And I hope that’s not the case in this case, but certainly over the years, it’s been the case, and it’s the case with respect to close calls.

HEINRICH (voice over): Trump signed a presidential memorandum to have the FAA assess the “damage done by Biden’s woke policies and ensure future hiring is based on merit.”

TRUMP: We don’t care what race they are. We want the most competent people, especially in those positions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEINRICH: And that the FAA policy under former President Biden said, people with disabilities hired into mission critical occupations must meet the same qualifications as other applicants.

Watch above via Fox News Channel’s Special Report.