Doocy Asks Karoline Leavitt If Americans Are ‘Safe To Fly Commercially’ [WATCH]

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to concerns about aviation safety on Friday after Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy questioned whether it is “safe to fly commercially” in light of President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on the hiring process for air traffic controllers.

The discussion comes after a deadly midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, resulting in 67 fatalities.

During his first press conference following the crash, President Trump emphasized the importance of hiring highly skilled air traffic controllers, stating that they must be “geniuses” and vowing to “restore faith in American air travel.”

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He criticized the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) hiring standards, particularly its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives under the Obama and Biden administrations.

Leavitt reinforced Trump’s position, stating that the administration will “prioritize” hiring air traffic controllers and pilots based on “merit” and “skills” rather than physical attributes.

During Friday’s press briefing, Doocy directly questioned whether Americans should be concerned about flying.

“If President Trump is telling us that air traffic controllers are staffed with unqualified controllers, these DEI hires who never should have been brought on, it’s not safe to fly commercially, is it?” Doocy asked.

Leavitt responded by affirming that air travel remains safe while also acknowledging concerns about hiring practices.

“The president was asked and answered this yesterday and he believes that it is still indeed safe and Americans should feel safe traveling our skies,” she said. “With that said, two things can be true at the same time.

“And we certainly have seen the deterioration of federal hiring standards at the Federal Aviation Administration, and the president wants to increase those standards. He wants pilots in this country who have the great responsibility of flying American citizens by the tens of millions every single day to be chosen for that position based on their merit and their skills, and so the administration will continue to prioritize this.”

Trump has criticized the FAA’s DEI policies, arguing that they have compromised safety standards.

He pointed to past hiring practices that prioritized candidates from underrepresented groups, including individuals with disabilities.

The FAA’s website previously listed “severe disabilities” as a hiring priority, though there has been dispute over whether such individuals have actually been placed in air traffic control positions.

As part of his administration’s response, Trump signed an executive order on January 20 eliminating DEI programs within federal agencies.

The order mandates that all federal employees working in DEI-related roles be placed on leave.

Trump also addressed the recent crash on Truth Social, stating that the Army Black Hawk helicopter was flying at “too high” of an altitude.

During Friday’s briefing, Doocy asked whether Trump was implying that the helicopter crew may have intentionally crashed into the American Airlines flight or if an error had been made by the crew members.

“No, the president is simply stating what he said in that Truth Social post, which is that the helicopter was flying higher than it should have been, which is one of the reasons that could have led to this collision. The other reasons for that are still being investigated, and I will let that investigation play out,” Leavitt said.

The midair collision resulted in the deaths of all 67 people aboard both aircraft—64 passengers and three crew members on the commercial flight, and three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk. Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.

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