OUT OF HIS DEPTH

Trump Responds to Calls to Visit D.C. Plane Crash Site: ‘You Want Me to Go Swimming?’

The president said he had a plan to meet with some of the families of the 67 people believed dead after the mid-air collision above the Potomac River.

President Donald Trump said he was planning to meet with some family members of the 67 victims believed dead after a passenger jet collided with a Army helicopter near Washington Reagan National Airport on Wednesday—but was not planning to visit the crash site in the Potomac River. The president made the remarks while speaking to reporters after signing an executive order naming Chris Rocheleau the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Mike Whitaker, the previous FAA administrator, stepped down on Jan. 20. Trump would not confirm if he had been in communication with the families, telling reporters “I don’t want to comment on that” while sitting behind the Resolute desk. He responded with annoyance when a reporter asked him if he planned to visit the crash site. “I have a plan to visit, not the site, because… you tell me—what’s the site, the water? Want me to go swimming?” the president asked sarcastically. Although the aircraft landed in the middle of the icy Potomac River, hundreds of rescuers deployed from a point near the George Washington Parkway to search for survivors, the Associated Press reported. When asked if he would meet with the first responders from across DC, Maryland, and Virginia that jumped into action on Wednesday night, he replied “I don’t have a plan to do that, but I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt, with their family members obviously, but I’ll be meeting with some of the families.”