Think you got that one wrong B4: A major theme of President Trump's comments during this news briefing is one that has become a significant feature of his administration so far: the fight against diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI programmes.
Trump has now - explicitly - blamed his predecessors in the Biden administration - particularly former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg - for allegedly hiring people with disabilities and psychological issues for air traffic controller positions.
He hasn't provided any evidence to support his claims. The Federal Aviation Administration is a large organisation with 35,000 employees - a fraction of whom are air traffic controllers.
"I don't think so," Trump says, remarking on whether he believes those hired in Buttigieg's time were qualified to safely control air traffic.
Two things were very clear from Trump’s remarks on Thursday. The first is that his eagerness to inject himself into a major news story is undiminished in his new term. And the second is that in his view it is never too soon to inject politics into national tragedy – and use it to attack opponents and advance his agenda. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cy7kxx74yxlt#player