For those who are just waking up to the news, overnight a tragedy occurred involving an American Airlines regional jet and an Army UH-60 helicopter colliding over the Potomac.
As rescue and recovery operations are ongoing and the situation remains dynamic, the most recent updates note that 27 bodies have been recovered from the cold waters.
The jet, reportedly flying in from Wichita, Kansas, carried roughly 64 passengers, including several US figure skating team members and coaches.
While first responders are diligently working to find victims and retrieve the fuselage of both aircraft submerged in the river, CNN’s focus shifted, as is common, to finding a way to attribute blame for the incident to President Trump.
Anchor Abby Phillip wasted no time attempting to place blame on the new administration’s transition.
“Look, it’s January 29th. We are just nine days out from a presidential transition, an administrative transition. The FAA administrator resigned at the end of the Biden administration. So there is no permanent confirmed FAA administrator right now,” she said. “This is going to be a time when there’s going to be a lot of public communication and a lot of investigation of what happened here.”
Minutes after the DCA plane crash, CNN anchor Abby Phillip is already trying to blame the Trump admin for the crash.
Callous and yet so entirely predictable. pic.twitter.com/FEhZkeey8b
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 30, 2025
However, former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo, who Phillip prompted to comment on what she expected moving forward in the investigation, seemed to push back on the notion that the transition away from the Biden administration was an issue.
“Air traffic controllers do not come and go with the change of an administration,” she replied. “The politics of the situation should have had no impact whatsoever on air traffic controllers.”
CNN alum Peter Hamby shared her comments as a “reality check.”
Mary Schiavo — former Dept. of Transportation inspector general — with a reality check on CNN:
“Air traffic controllers do not come and go with the change of an administration … The politics of the situation should have had no impact whatsoever on air traffic controllers”
— Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) January 30, 2025
NEW: Officials Hold Press Conference After Mid-Air Collision Near Reagan Airport
President Trump, Other Admin Officials Respond to Fatal Air Crash Over Potomac
Not to be outdone was CNN commentator Bakari Sellers. Sellers shared a screenshot of a report on a federal hiring freeze and captioned it, “8 days ago.”
Sellers would later delete his X post after outraged followers noted that bodies hadn’t even been recovered at this point, and he was placing blame on President Trump.
He admitted his timing was off but added a disclaimer of “but I’m also very frustrated upset and disturbed with where we are as a country.”
So, not only is the deadly plane crash Trump’s fault, but your inability to show class is also his fault. Got it, Bakari.
You deleted the post because dozens of Americans are currently being fished out of the Potomac, and rather than have reverence for the victims, you chose to dishonestly (and despicably) blame @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/djduf7OqE3
— Chet Cannon (@Chet_Cannon) January 30, 2025
Social media also pilloried Phillip and CNN over their attempt to steer the blame toward the newly minted President.
“[Abby Phillip] if you wonder why you work for a failing, low-rated, low-viewership network, listen to yourself,” one viewer replied.
Another correctly pointed out, “This is absolutely disgusting journalism.”
Former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright suggested CNN was living by the Democrat creed of never letting a crisis go to waste.
As Democrat ghouls have long said, never let a crisis go to waste.
How despicable. https://t.co/TIYqyo19nS
— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) January 30, 2025
As of this posting, DC Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr. has given the grim news that the operation has shifted from rescue to recovery.
“At this point, we don’t believe that there are any survivors,” Donnelly said at a press conference this morning.
Instead of urging their viewers to come together and respectfully cover the tragedy, CNN opted to chomp at the bit as to how they might accuse Trump of somehow causing the crash.
Absolutely disgusting.
