Trump is back and dividing us again with crash-related attacks on DEI

President Trump’s response to the tragic deaths of 67 people in the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington was disgraceful, inaccurate, racist and sexist.

Without providing a shred of evidence, the president implied Thursday that diversity, equity and inclusion programs have lowered the quality and competence of air traffic controllers and pilots, saying that “common sense” told him this.

Trump’s use of a White House news conference less than 24 hours after the deadly midair collision as a platform to blame former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for the accident because of their embrace of DEI was unwarranted, and particularly disgusting and insensitive.

“Despicable,” Buttigieg rightly wrote on X of Trump’s comments. “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.”

Instead of embracing the traditional presidential role of consoler-in-chief to the families of lost loved ones and a nation struck by tragedy, Trump assumed his typical role of divider in chief. His conduct was not just beneath a president. It was beneath a decent human being.

The Republican president demonized DEI programs throughout his election campaign and issued executive orders after returning to the White House on Jan. 20 seeking to end such programs in the federal government, the military, the private sector and colleges. Trump, who was born into wealth and epitomizes white privilege, claims that DEI discriminates against white people — particularly white men — and falsely calls it “illegal.”

In truth, DEI is about removing systemic barriers such as racism and sexism that have discriminated against marginalized groups since colonial times in America. It is not about hiring unqualified people who undermine necessary excellence for any job. By Trump’s false DEI standard, white men are assumed to be qualified for jobs and college admissions, while the qualifications of everyone else are suspect.

Trump’s views on DEI have no basis in reality. In the case of air traffic controllers, for example, job applicants all have to meet the same rigorous requirements — including aptitude and psychological tests and a physical exam — and undergo three to four years of training before earning full certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.

DEI does not require lowering standards to hire, retain or promote unqualified people of color, women or anyone else.

In addition to opening the doors to the American Dream wider to admit more people, DEI benefits our nation by enabling businesses, government and other sectors to take advantage of the talents of everyone, expanding the pool of job candidates.

We can only imagine, for example, how many Black Americans might have become great scientists, physicians, business leaders and government officials if they had not been held back by discrimination under slavery and Jim Crow. As the old slogan of the United Negro College Fund states: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Trump’s implication in attacking DEI is clear: White men get jobs on merit because they are smart and capable. But the president seems to believe that many people of color, women and people with disabilities get good jobs only because of DEI. He assumes many of them are unqualified and not particularly bright, leading to terrible consequences like the deadly midair collision over the Potomac River.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The 78-year-old president seems eager to return to what he likely considers the “good old days,” when decades ago people of color and women were largely locked out of top colleges and high-level jobs. As a Black man, I know that those times were “the bad old days” for my people.

It is wrong and dangerous for the president to recklessly riff with whatever pops into his head, ignoring the enormous consequences his words carry, even when what he says makes no sense.

I don’t know the racial breakdown of the 67 people killed in the collision between the passenger plane and the Army helicopter and I don’t care. These were all precious human beings who should be alive today. I mourn the loss of them all, as I know the vast majority of Americans do. The National Transportation Safety Board is working to determine the cause of the deadly accident and expects to produce a preliminary report within 30 days. The findings of the board, based on facts, will be important to make the skies safer by preventing future air tragedies.

Just as Trump babbled nonsense in his first term about COVID-19 — claiming in 2020 that it would disappear “like a miracle” and promoting ineffective drugs to treat the disease — he is now making ridiculous claims about DEI.

We need a president who believes in facts, tells the truth and doesn’t engage in wild speculation. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is not that president. He never will be.

A. Scott Bolden is an attorney, NewsNation contributor and former chair of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party.