President Donald Trump began his White House briefing with a moment of silence and a prayer for the victims of Wednesday’s crash at Reagan National Airport.

The president implied that the crash was caused by the FAA's recruitment of people with "severe intellectual disabilities" and "psychiatric problems."

But within minutes, the “presidential” mirage dissolved. Trump unleashed an unusually appallingly rant, blaming the crash on Barack Obama, Joe Biden, former Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, DEI and people with disabilities.

President Trump blamed diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the last two Democratic presidents for the crash—without citing evidence to support his assertions. “Brilliant people have to be in those positions,

It's the first crisis of the 11-day-old Donald Trump's administration. The president claims the collision between the Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines could be blamed on DEI hiring policies.

There is no evidence that diversity efforts played a role in the crash, and his statements disregarded his own administration’s hiring policies.

Trump acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the nation to pray for the victims. But he moved nonetheless to assign blame.