As PJ Media previously reported, there has been another commercial airliner crash. On Monday, a Delta Airlines plan with 80 people on board crash-landed in Toronto, Canada , with the plane literally flipping upside down on what appears to be an icy runway. Though some injuries have been reported, all passengers have been accounted for.
And it took no time for the mainstream media to blame Trump.
NBC's Tom Costello shamelessly attempted to tie the crash to President Trump, Elon Musk, and their controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The effort was not just misguided—it showcases a disturbing trend of Trump Derangement Syndrome dictating media coverage of major events.
Costello began by stating, "This is going to yet again raise the concern about FAA staffing, air traffic control staffing," suggesting an link between the crash and staffing issues at the FAA. Clearly not having a clue as to what he was talking about, he went on to question whether air traffic control staffing in America had any bearing on the incident.
“And yet, as you also know, the FAA has been complaining for years that they are understaffed in critical job positions, especially air traffic control. I was having a conversation with somebody today about whether air traffic control in America is being affected by the staff cuts. So far, not to their knowledge.”
So, it’s a moot point, and he knows it. Yet, he couldn’t resist making this about Trump.
As he went on, Costello mentioned "critical job positions, especially air traffic control," and insinuated that safety might be compromised due to these cuts. Costello didn’t mention that Trump's hiring freeze in the federal workforce exempted safety workers—including air traffic controllers.
NBC’s Tom Costello ties Donald Trump, @ElonMusk, and @DOGE to the Delta Airlines crash in Toronto, Canada: “[T]his is going yet again raised a concern about FAA staffing — air traffic control staffing. Now, this is a Canadian air traffic control tower and this is under Canadian… pic.twitter.com/KOecnP1A0n
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 17, 2025
In the weeks following the devastating midair collision at Reagan National Airport, growing concerns over the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) hiring practices have come under intense scrutiny. The tragic January 29 accident, which involved an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter, claimed all 67 lives on board. At PJ Media, we have extensively covered the FAA’s staffing crisis—one driven by DEI initiatives under Obama and Biden that prioritized diversity quotas over merit, leading to the rejection of highly qualified white applicants.
Related: Trump Was Right: FAA Turned Away Qualified Controllers Over Race
Current and former air traffic control whistleblowers say that the FAA's emphasis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives has led to a decline in the recruitment of qualified personnel and likely played a role in the recent crash at Reagan National Airport. These initiatives began under the Obama administration, were halted during Trump's tenure, and then were reintroduced under Biden, reviving the very policies that compromised the agency's focus on competence in favor of diversity.
Costello never mentioned that. Instead, he sought to link this latest crash to Trump's efforts to trim the federal workforce, even though the crash took place in Canadian airspace under the authority of Canadian air traffic control, which means the crash had no direct connection to the FAA, understaffed or not.
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