CNN political contributor Van Jones slammed President Donald Trump’s remarks in which he blamed Wednesday’s deadly plane-helicopter collision on diversity, equity and inclusion hiring policies.
“It’s appalling,” said Jones, a former Obama White House advisor who also worked with Trump’s first administration on criminal justice legislation.
“I just can’t imagine what these families must be going through … it is every family’s worst nightmare to say goodbye to someone, to be texting you as they’re taking off, and then you never see them again,” he told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper Thursday night. “You worry how did they die and how much pain was there, and you’re going through all this, and meanwhile, the president of the United States is acting like a kindergartner.”
During a Thursday press conference at the White House, Trump quickly suggested that the crash, which killed 67 people, was a result of “mediocre” standards for hiring established by former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Rather than recruiting federal air traffic control workers who were “superior” with the “highest aptitude” and “highest intellect,” the Democratic administrations were “actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.”
Jones, a Democrat who has been criticized for some of the praise he’s given to Trump in the past, said the 47th president of the United States was “just essentially making up stuff.”
“Something went wrong here,” he said of the tragic collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, “We need to find out what went wrong here so it doesn’t happen again.”
Jones also called out Trump for a number of terminations upon his return to office on Jan. 20, including the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, and disbanding the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
“The president United States fired a bunch of people for no reason who are supposed to be in charge, and he’s taking, as usual, no responsibility,” said the political commentator. “So the blamer in chief, rather than being the consoler in chief, is behaving in a way that’s appalling.”
Since taking office less than two weeks ago, the Trump administration has focused much of its policy agenda on rooting out all programs and offices related to DEI, instead calling for so-called “merit-based opportunity.”
“Are we just gonna blame Black and brown people for everything that happens for the next four years?” Jones queried. “Every problem is a DEI problem. Every problem is some brown immigrants … Why run for president if you’re not going to take care of the people of the United States at a time like this?”