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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for attempting to blame President Donald Trump for the Delta airliner that crash-landed upside-down in Toronto.
Speaking on Fox’s “America Reports” on Tuesday, Leavitt criticized Schumer for alleging that Trump’s recent cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration’s workforce played a role in the accident.
“It’s incredibly irresponsible for Chuck Schumer to say such a thing when the investigation is still underway,” Leavitt said.
A Delta Air Lines flight departing from Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on Monday crash-landed upon arrival at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Video footage captured the aircraft touching down before flipping onto its top side amid a burst of flames.
In the aftermath, footage showed the plane resting upside-down as passengers hurriedly evacuated through the cabin doors. All 80 passengers survived, though 18 sustained injuries, including three in critical condition, Fox News reported.
The crash ignited political debate on X, with Schumer blaming Trump. In a series of posts, he stated, “I’m thankful that everyone in the flight incident in Toronto that took off from Minneapolis is safe, but we keep seeing these incidents day after day. Meanwhile, Trump’s doing massive layoffs at the FAA – including safety specialists – and making our skies less and less safe.”
“Democrats are fighting to protect the flying public,” he added.
In a subsequent post, Schumer wrote, “To those asking whether it matters that the plane’s destination was in Canada: The flight took off from Minneapolis. The FAA was still responsible for inspecting the aviation equipment, and Trump just let go of FAA safety specialists.”
Leavitt challenged the senator and picked apart his claims. She highlighted that Canadian air traffic controllers were in charge of directing the plane during the crash.
Speaking to “America Reports” co-anchor John Roberts, she said, “And as you rightfully pointed out, John, this crash unfortunately took place in Canadian airspace with Canadian air traffic controllers overseeing it.”
She then challenged the claim regarding Trump firing officials from the FAA. “And the facts about the FAA are that no air traffic controllers have been let go by Secretary [Sean] Duffy or this new administration. In fact, Secretary Duffy has put great emphasis on hiring the best and the brightest air traffic controllers who want to be part of the FAA,” she argued.
“And President Trump signed a very strong executive order to ensure that the FAA and all federal government agencies are focused on merit and skill-based hiring,” she continued. “We want the best and the brightest, the most competent individuals in positions especially of public safety at the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and all departments across this federal government, so we can best serve the American people.”
She concluded her statements by noting that former President Joe Biden and his Transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, “sat on their hands when it came to aviation safety for four years.”
Also Tuesday, Leavitt pushed back on media and Democrat complaints about Trump’s efforts to dramatically cut federal spending through recommendations made to him by Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk and his team.
Leavitt referenced past video clips of Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden all championing dramatic spending cuts, though only one of them — Clinton, along with a GOP-controlled Congress — managed to cut spending enough to balance the federal budget for a couple of years.
“To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders!” Leavitt posted on the X platform along with a video clip of Obama and Biden citing the need for cuts.
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