Washington DC: The president of United states Donald Trump on Thursday expressed grief over the loss of lives of around 30 lives in the plane crash near Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC calling it a “devastating moment” in the nation’s history.
Acknowledging the impact on families across the United States and abroad, including Russian nationals on board, he assured that efforts would be made to determine the cause of the disaster and prevent such incidents in the future.
Addressing a press briefing on the aviation disaster, Trump said, “Sadly, there are no survivors. This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history and a tragedy of terrible proportions as we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly. This is really shaking a lot of people, including people from other nations.”
“We had a Russian contingent (on plane), some very talented people. Unfortunately, they were on that plane and we are very sorry about that. We do not know what led to this crash, but we have some very strong opinions and ideas. We will find out how this disaster occurred and we will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Trump added.
The US President further affirmed that his administration will set the “highest possible bar” for aviation safety.
He further said, “On behalf of the First Lady, myself and 340 million Americans, our hearts are shattered alongside yours and our prayers are with you now and in the days to come, we will be working very diligently. My administration will set the highest possible bar for aviation safety. We have to have the smartest people — it doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are.”
During the briefing, Trump also criticised the Biden administration’s aviation policies, arguing that his own leadership had prioritised safety over politics.
“I put safety first, Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first and they put politics at a level that nobody’s ever seen. Their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse,” Trump said.