Furious Americans have accused Donald Trump of having 'no empathy' for the victims of this week's American Airlines crash, after appearing to make a light-hearted remark about the events during a press conference.
The Republican leader, 78, was asked by a journalist whether he plans to visit the site of the collision in the coming days, to which he seemingly responded with a pointed joke.
American Airlines crash explained
An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four members of cabin crew when it collided with a military helicopter on Wednesday (29 Jan), reportedly killing all on board.
Advert
The PSA Airlines engine (AA 5432) was preparing to land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after departing from Witchita, Kansas, when it collided with a Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.
The chopper had departed from Fort Belvoir, Virginia hours earlier, and it was carrying three people itself.
Witnesses of the devastating crash later told press both aircrafts subsequently plummeted into the Potomac River, with the Mail reporting that the American Airlines plane 'split in half'.
Rescue teams were deployed to search for survivors - both in boats and from the skies - but an update yesterday afternoon heard DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly confess the investigators 'don’t believe there are any survivors'.
What did Donald Trump say?
In the hours after the collision was announced, Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social, where he listed what he believed had happened in the air, before querying why the helicopter was not instructed to move out of the flight path of the plane.
"Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane," he initially penned.
"This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!"
Later, in a press conference televised yesterday (30 Jan), Trump was asked by a reporter whether he has a 'plan to go visit the site' that both aircrafts collided'.
Before the interviewer had finished her sentence, the President then interrupted: "I have no plans to visit the site because - you tell me, what's the site?"
He then went on to seemingly jibe: "The water? You want me to go swimming?"
Keeping her composure, the reporter then suggests: "To meet with the responders down there?"
"I don't have a plan to do that," Trump again interrupts.
Footage of the interaction has since gone viral online, with many spectators accusing the controversial politician of having 'no empathy' for those that lost their lives in the sky earlier this week.
Referencing his recent inauguration - which saw him sworn in as the 47th US President - one wrote on Instagram in response to the clip: "We are only two weeks in and I’m truly exhausted."
Another hit out: "You know.. if nothing else, the blatant lack of self awareness, empathy, compassion… SENSE is providing gentle comic relief amid the pure rage and unbearable sadness."
"OMFG!" added a third. "I’m just at a loss, my brain is shutting down."
"I can’t imagine grieving someone in this tragedy and hearing this absolute doorknob disrespect their death like that!" another penned.
A fifth continued: "I can’t even imagine how the families are feeling hearing this heartless statement from this felonious man."