At a press conference that could have been used to comfort and console the families of those who died in a tragic mid-air collision over the Potomac River on January 29, Donald Trump and his band of lackeys used that opportunituy to launch unfounded and totally irresponsible attacks on previous presidents and cabinet officers. Trump hinted that the tragic deaths of 67 persons was partially the result of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies put in place by President Obama and President Biden.
Trump did this with absolutely no knowledge of whether anyone involved as an air traffic controller or a pilot on the airplane or the army helicopter was a DEI hire. Experts in aviation clearly stated that Trump's comments were both premature and uninformed by any facts. When asked why he thought the problem was DEI policies, his answer was that his assumption was a matter of "common sense."
The President of the United States said that it was common sense to conclude that this tragedy was the result of the incompetence and lack of expertise of pilots and air traffic controllers who were only in their positions because of the lowering of hiring standards. This was said without knowing if all the people in charge that night were or were not white males, who seem to be the only competent group in our country according to Donald Trump.
The notion that DEI always presumes less skill or less competence is a shocking thing to hear from someone whose whole life has been the beneficiary of special treatment and white privilege rather than merit. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. He won the vote by 49% of the vote in 2024 with Kamala Harris receiving 48% of the national vote.
Donald Trump has failed at everything he has attempted from being a real estate developer to being a US president. Six of his businesses ended in bankruptcy. His first presidency was so badly handled that over one million Americans died as a result of COVID-19, which Trump suggested be treated by drinking bleach or household cleaners.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke reinforcing the issue of DEI as the problem resulting in the tragic crash. Of all people, Hegseth should say nothing about merit vs. special treatment. Pete Hegseth was barely confirmed in his position in a 50-50 vote in the U.S. Senate with Vice President Vance casting the deciding vote. He had no qualifications for this position. He was nominated only because Trump thought he looked good on TV as a weekend anchor on a Fox News program.
DEI does not elevate unqualified people. DEI allowed thoroughly competent people to be hired after years and even centuries of being passed over simply because of race, gender, or a disability. DEI is the answer to the evils of American history, not the cause of a crash over the Potomac.
Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth should be ashamed of themselves for rushing to a microphone to blame other presidents and other people without waiting to learn any facts in this case.
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The Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle is pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He also served as president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York, from 2011 to 2019.
