'Coward' Donald Trump Mocked for Blaming Air Traffic Control Workers and Pilots for the Deadly Washington, D.C., Plane Crash

About three hours after an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in midair near Reagan National Airport, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to point blame at the helicopter pilot and workers in the air traffic control tower.

Late Wednesday night, the president issued a statement on White House letterhead saying, "I have been fully briefed on the terrible accident which just took place at Reagan International Airport. May God Bless their souls." He also went on to thank the first responders who were on the scene.

However, less than an hour after he issued his initial statement, the newly inaugurated commander-in-chief took to his personal social media platform and wrote: "The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time."

"It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane?" he continued. "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"

Trump followed up his late-night rant with a more measured response, which read, "What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!"

Several vocal critics took to social media to criticize the president for blaming others for the incident except himself.

One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared Trump's comments and wrote: "On Trump's second day in office, he did the following: Fired the head of the TSA, fired the entirety of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, froze hiring for Air Traffic Controllers, and then fired 100 of the top FAA security officers. 'Not good' is an understatement."

Another X user shared: "I would not fly in the US for a few years. This has NOTHING to do with the skill, dedication, & experience of our controllers but because of the chaos sowed by this incompetent govt."

A third person pointed out: "Trump sounds like a 3rd grader responding to a horrible situation. This piece of s--- is president?"

Sixty passengers and four crew members were aboard the plane, and three soldiers were on the helicopter.

The passengers included a group of 14 teen figure skaters from Boston, their moms and two Russian-born former world champion.

President Trump confirmed none of the victims survived.

As OK! previously reported, the president held a press conference confirming there were no survivors from the crash and hinted at the incident potentially being caused by DEI hiring tactics.

Trump defended his statement: "I’m not blaming the controller. I’m saying there are things you could question."