Trump’s First Test in Office

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings, watch full episodes here, or listen to the weekly podcast here.

The worst aviation disaster in almost a quarter century is one of the first tests of Donald Trump’s second administration. Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic joined to discuss how the president responded to the crisis.

Following the aviation crash over the Potomac this week, Trump moved to blame diversity in the Federal Aviation Administration’s hiring process for the crash. These comments are a continuation of Trump’s behavior throughout his first term and both of his campaigns—but how his response will affect him politically remains to be seen, Mark Leibovich said last night.

Trump is working in “a consequence-free environment,” Leibovich continued. “Ultimately, Donald Trump will do what he can get away with, and whether a few points on his approval ratings are going to move the needle on this are unclear.”

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times; Mark Leibovich, a staff writer at The Atlantic; Ali Vitali, the host of Way Too Early on MSNBC; Nancy Youssef, a national-security correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.