Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, is accusing President Trump of blaming Wednesday’s fatal plane crash near Washington on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in order to “distract” from a rocky start to his second term.
Speaking to MSNBC, Johnson said the president should be supporting the families affected by the crash and reminding Americans it is safe to fly, rather than attacking minorities.
“This is another example of this administration using the tools of race and othering to distract and distort from the dismal start of this administration,” Johnson told José Díaz-Balart.
“We should be focused on trying to recover the remains of individuals who were killed in the crash, consulting their families and figuring out how to prevent such accidents from happening again. But as opposed to focusing on what’s important to the American people, what’s important for the safety of those who fly, they use something like this on this day to distort and distract. It is unfortunate that we are in this posture as a nation.”
Johnson pointed out that ahead of the plane-helicopter collision, Trump gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, part of what the NAACP leader called a “sinister strategy to privatize government and distract the American people.”
“You use something that’s extreme to distract the focus on what should be the priority or what’s important so that you can have the nation looking over there, while at the same time in the opposite direction you’re doing things such as reducing the function of federal government, outsourcing those functions and privatizing those functions so you can maximize profit,” Johnson said.
“As a community, African American community, as an American community, we must not be distracted and stay focused on what’s really taking place here.”
Since taking office, Trump has worked to disband DEI programs and policies at the federal government.
During a press conference on Thursday regarding the crash over the Potomac River, he accused former Presidents Obama and Biden of lowering the qualification standards for air traffic controllers and said the Federal Aviation Administration is “actively recruiting workers with severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website.”
When asked how he could already connect DEI to the tragic crash considering the ongoing investigation, Trump replied, “Because I have common sense.”
His comments drew swift backlash from other Black leaders as well, with many arguing the focus should be on the grieving families and not politics.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, though details are beginning to surface as the investigation unfolds.
Sixty-seven people died in the crash.
