The Emperor Has No Clothes Trump’s Blame Game Is So Real

President Donald J. Trump is on a flight too far with his outrageous reaction to the U.S. airplane-helicopter disaster. Trump finally appears to have turned off many Americans, not to mention Canadians, with his paranoia and obsessive blame game.
 
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Trump began an astonishing rant, blaming Democrats and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) employees for the midair collision between the airliner and the U.S. army helicopter.  The two aircraft crashed into the Potomac River, near the Reagan Washington International Airport. Sixty-seven people are presumed dead.

American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided midair with the army helicopter, carrying three people. American figure skaters, coaches and family members who had been at a skating camp in Wichita, were among those who died.

Trump claimed at a White House news conference later that day that policies promoting DEI staff “could have been” to blame for the collision, the deadliest U.S. plane crash since November 2001. Given the crowded skies over the United States, that country has a phenomenal safety record. But Trump did not give any evidence that DEI staff caused the crash or were related to it. He defended his position by saying “I have common sense.”

Normally, political leaders are very reluctant to lay blame in such disasters as professional air safety analysts can take months and even years before concluding investigations. In this case authorities have said they expect to have preliminary results within one month.

Trump criticized CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins for suggesting that he should not get out ahead of investigations, and he also blamed former President Biden and other Democrats for the air collision.

Since the November presidential election, Democrats in the U.S. have been reluctant to confront Trump on the tone and content of his approach. But now, some Democrats are coming out of the woodwork.
 
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, located near the crash site, told CNN: “The President was asked whether he had any evidence backing up that outrageous and stomach-turning claim, and he had to acknowledge that he did not. Imagine you‘re a family member and you‘ve just lost a loved one, and you‘re grappling with answers and you‘re trying to figure out, and you have the President of the United States trying to blame people for political reasons or cast aspersions.” 
 
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, noting that Chicago is a major flight hub in the U.S., argued that Trump is “unfit to lead during moments of crisis.”
 
Thus far, recent former Democratic Presidents Biden, Obama and Clinton have kept their silence about Trump’s handling of the air disaster. For their part, senior Republicans have kept silence about the matter.
 
If some Canadians were hoping that the extremely negative criticism of Trump about the air crash might cause him to delay his imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, this is apparently not the case. The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that the tariffs will go ahead on Saturday. But Trump said he is still considering whether to include oil or oil products from those countries as part of his import taxes. If anything, he appears to be pushing down further on the accelerator pedal.
 
If Canadian oil products are exempted, this could greatly affect New Brunswick which exports major quantities of product from the Saint John Irving Oil Refinery to the USA. This refinery is the largest in Canada and produces gasoline, diesel, heating oil, jet fuel, propane and asphalt.
The Government of New Brunswick has said that in 2021 the province exported $7.9 billion in refined petroleum products to the United Sates. Other large N.B. products exported to the U.S. include forestry products, potatoes, frozen foods and crustations.

Speaking like a capricious Roman Emperor, Trump chirped that on the oil imports: “We may or may not…we’re going to make that determination probably tonight (Thursday).” At press time, it was not clear whether the U.S. will go ahead with the oil tariffs. As always, Trump expects us to hang on his every word.