Octopus Overlords

President Donald Trump blasted the administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI) initiatives within the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation, while speaking about the plane crash near Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

"I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary," Trump said at a press conference. "Only the highest aptitude. They have to be the highest intellect and psychological aptitude that were allowed to be qualified for air traffic controllers."

...

While the investigation has not concluded, Trump said at the press conference that he has some "very strong opinions" on why the crash occurred. He blamed the incident on a lack of competency of the people flying and helicopter controllers.

"I can't imagine that people with 20/20 vision can't see what's happening out there," Trump said.

The American Airlines pilot "was doing everything right," Trump said, and "for some reason, you have a helicopter at the same height and going at an angle. It was unbelievably bad."

"It just kept going. It made a slight turn, but it was too late. It shouldn't have been at the same height because if you weren't at the same height, you could've gone under it or over it," he said.

Trump said that his standards are the "complete opposite" of what the Biden administration had in place. After calling the plane crash a "tragedy of terrible propositions," Trump also appointed a new acting FAA administrator—Chris Rocheleau, a top executive for an aviation business association.

"As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly," Trump said. "Really, we are in mourning. This has really shaken a lot of people."

Reporter: You blamed the diversity elements but then told us you weren’t sure that the controllers made any mistakes.

Trump: It’s all under investigation.

Reporter: That’s why I’m trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash.

The previous administration responded by subjecting the food industry to more regulation, with additional proposed regulation pending. These rules and proposals add cost to the production and supply of food, exacerbating food price inflation to the detriment of consumers.

I write to request your administration quickly and effectively implement two of your Executive Orders, Regulatory Freeze Pending Review and Delivering Emergency Price Relief to American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis. Several regulatory actions taken by the previous administration are (or will be, if finalized) so costly and burdensome, they will drive up the cost of meat and poultry products for consumers.

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:02 pm Thumbing through my latest issue of Beef Magazine (not the same one hepcat reads), and I wasn't surprised to see the meat industry

Spoiler:

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 1:40 pm Yes - of course he did:

The American Airlines pilot "was doing everything right," Trump said, and "for some reason, you have a helicopter at the same height and going at an angle. It was unbelievably bad."

[...]

"It just kept going. It made a slight turn, but it was too late. It shouldn't have been at the same height because if you weren't at the same height, you could've gone under it or over it," he said.

Kraken wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 12:32 am

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Jan 29, 2025 10:54 pm Right now the goal is to (1) overwhelm and (2) demoralize.

And (3) invite lawsuits that create openings to overturn precedents and expand presidential power. Even if they lose 3/4 of those cases, that fourth one is going to be a doozy, and the other three will have bled their opponents' resources.

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:08 am Trump's comments after last night's plane crash where 60+ people died:

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” Trump said. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

Can he just not be a gaping, raging asshole spreading conspiracy theories and casting blame for once in his entire fucking life? Maybe act with even a fraction of the decency that we would expect from any fellow human being, much less the President of the United States?

It's rhetorical...we all know he can't.

Rumpy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:39 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:08 am Trump's comments after last night's plane crash where 60+ people died:

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” Trump said. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

Can he just not be a gaping, raging asshole spreading conspiracy theories and casting blame for once in his entire fucking life? Maybe act with even a fraction of the decency that we would expect from any fellow human being, much less the President of the United States?

It's rhetorical...we all know he can't.

I find it disgusting that he's out there promoting his 'higher standard' amid this tragedy, when just last week he had fired some highly qualified people. Absolutely shameful.

hepcat wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:07 pmAnyway, on topic: Every time Trump or his cronies blame DEI for things like this, the headlines should scream "Trump Blames Minorities and Women for Crash".

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:53 pm

Rumpy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 2:39 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:08 am Trump's comments after last night's plane crash where 60+ people died:

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” Trump said. “The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!”

Can he just not be a gaping, raging asshole spreading conspiracy theories and casting blame for once in his entire fucking life? Maybe act with even a fraction of the decency that we would expect from any fellow human being, much less the President of the United States?

It's rhetorical...we all know he can't.

I find it disgusting that he's out there promoting his 'higher standard' amid this tragedy, when just last week he had fired some highly qualified people. Absolutely shameful.

Keep in mind that when he refers to "higher standards" he's talking solely about unquestioned, unflinching loyalty specifically to Donald J Trump.

There is no higher virtue or standard in his mind.

OrangeNaziFuckface wrote:Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 4:37 pmI knew the Trump presidency would be bad, but even I didn't have "blame airline disasters on hiring minorities" as a possible talking point. These people are simply monsters.

President Trump ordered a review of all federal aviation hiring and safety decisions in response to Wednesday night's deadly air collision near Washington, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The order shows Trump is doubling down on his claim, without evidence, that DEI policies were a factor in the crash. His memo explicitly mentions "diversity equity and inclusion," and reflects how anti-DEI efforts are a centerpiece of his second administration's policy.

"Review all hiring decisions and changes to safety protocols made during the prior four years, and to take such corrective action as necessary to achieve uncompromised aviation safety, including the replacement of any individuals who do not meet qualification standards."
"This review shall include a systematic assessment of any deterioration in hiring standards and aviation safety standards and protocols during the Biden administration."

El Guapo wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:31 pm Can you imagine being a minority working in air traffic control right now? I feel targeted as a federal employee, but they are really in the line of fire.

He said: "'The FAA website states they include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism all qualified for the position of a controller of air planes pouring into our country, pouring into a little spot. A little dot on the map. A runway."

"We have to have our smartest people. It doesn't matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intellect, talent.

El Guapo wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:31 pm Can you imagine being a minority working in air traffic control right now? I feel targeted as a federal employee, but they are really in the line of fire.

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 3:04 pm "If this is entirely due to DEI, then why weren't there any airline disasters during the Biden or Obama administrations?"

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 7:51 pm Speaking of sheer idiocy - "Here - let's give him a softball question:"

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

The biggest loss of life in America with respect to aircraft since 2001 and that's his response? It's been 10 DAYS.

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 7:51 pm The biggest loss of life in America with respect to aircraft since 2001 and that's his response? It's been 10 DAYS.

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 7:51 pm Speaking of sheer idiocy - "Here - let's give him a softball question:"

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

The biggest loss of life in America with respect to aircraft since 2001 and that's his response? It's been 10 DAYS.

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:48 pm The approach speed of a CRJ-700 is around 155 MPH (crossing the length of a football field in a hair over one second), and they'd likely have been descending fairly steeply. The helicopter would likely have been out of their line of sight below them, and the aircraft would have been way above the helicopter. Visual reference isn't always reliable.

The fact that ATC never got a confirmation from the Black Hawk after their request 30 seconds before the collision is the one thing that really stands out.

Carr pointed out that NPR and PBS member broadcast stations are licensed by the FCC. He also stated his opposition to government funding for NPR and PBS, though he acknowledged that isn't up to the FCC. Carr wrote:

For your awareness, I will be providing a copy of this letter to relevant Members of Congress because I believe this FCC investigation may prove relevant to an ongoing legislative debate. In particular, Congress is actively considering whether to stop requiring taxpayers to subsidize NPR and PBS programming. For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.

To the extent that these taxpayer dollars are being used to support a for-profit endeavor or an entity that is airing commercial advertisements, then that would further undermine any case for continuing to fund NPR and PBS with taxpayer dollars.

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:46 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 7:51 pm Speaking of sheer idiocy - "Here - let's give him a softball question:"

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

The biggest loss of life in America with respect to aircraft since 2001 and that's his response? It's been 10 DAYS.

Come now, you expect him to travel all that way? It's nearly five miles!

ImLawBoy wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 10:40 am

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 10:46 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2025 7:51 pm Speaking of sheer idiocy - "Here - let's give him a softball question:"

Trump, asked if he plans to visit the crash site:

"What's the site, the water? You want me to go swimming?"

The biggest loss of life in America with respect to aircraft since 2001 and that's his response? It's been 10 DAYS.

Come now, you expect him to travel all that way? It's nearly five miles!

And it's easy enough to say, "I don't want to be a distraction or cause a hindrance to the recovery/investigation efforts, so at this point it's probably best if I don't visit."

President Donald Trump started his presentation on the Flight 5342 tragedy with a moment of silence.

It would have been so much immeasurably better if he’d left it at that.

But he’s Donald Trump, so no such luck.

Instead, he turned it into one of his patented raving rants about how great he is, how it’s Joe Biden’s fault anyway, and how everything would be so much better if only all those pesky minority and disabled people knew their place. I don’t know how Trump’s remarks are being received in the rest of the country, but Wichita is a city in mourning. We’re reeling from the deadly crash Wednesday night of American Airlines Flight 5342, a Wichita-to-Washington jet that collided with an Army helicopter on approach to Reagan National Airport. The 64 airline passengers and crew and the three soldiers in the helicopter all died.

Our social media here today is filled with posts objecting to the president’s performance. I have scoured the pages of his staunchest supporters in and around Wichita and can’t find a single expression of support for what the president said at his whatever-that-was at the White House. I won’t dignify it by calling it a news conference, because there was precious little news revealed.