It’s one of the more obviously flawed ideas embraced by both President Donald Trump and his right-hand man Elon Musk: That government should be run like a business.

After briefly offering his sympathies to the families of those killed in the crash, and confirming there were no survivors, he pivoted to assigning blame for the tragedy - taking aim at his political

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday sarcastically responded to a journalist's question on the deadly collision between a passenger aircraft and an Army chopper over the Potomac River in Washington DC.

Trump appeared to resume the role of blamer-in-chief in the aftermath of Thursday's fatal plane crash, surveying the tragedy as just another American citizen asking questions, rather than as the leader of a nation dealing with its first commercial air disaster in 15 years.

The president at points acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the nation to pray for the victims. But he moved nonetheless to assign blame.

Donald Trump gave a briefing on the Jan. 29 helicopter-airplane crash on Jan. 29, in which a U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopter collided midair with American Airlines Flight 5342 as it approached Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

An American Airlines flight crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with a helicopter near the Reagan National Airport. President Trump and Vice President Vance have expressed condolences.

Trump repeatedly tried to tie diversity hiring practices to the crash during a briefing on Thursday as he also blamed the previous administration. “Are you saying this crash was somehow caused and the result of diversity hiring? And what evidence have you seen to support these claims?” a reporter asked Trump.

A midair collision near D.C. has raised concerns over FAA staffing, prompting scrutiny of air traffic control and aviation safety oversight.

Rescue crews will return to the Potomac River on Friday morning as they continue searching for victims of Wednesday night’s deadly midair collision.

President Donald Trump warned Canada and Mexico to expect tariffs of 25% on exports to the United States starting Saturday.