‘That is a scandal’: JD Vance unloads on Obama and Biden’s denial of white air-traffic controllers ‘because of the color of their skin’
PALM BEACH, Florida – Vice President JD Vance is doubling down on President Donald’s Trump’s suggestion that woke hiring policies of the Obama and Biden administrations may have been factors in the deadly collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter that killed 67 people at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last week.
Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Vance explained: “Here’s the specific way in which I think the DEI policies of the last administration, the Obama administration contributed to where we are.
“We have a massive shortage of air-traffic controllers and, in fact, there have been a number of lawsuits from people who would like to become air-traffic controllers against the Obama and Biden administration who basically said we were told not even to the apply because of the color of our skin, because they were white people who wanted to be air-traffic controllers, and under the DEI regime of the Biden administration, they weren’t welcome.
“What does that mean? Number one, it means we don’t have the best and the brightest sometimes in these positions. But even more importantly than that, even when we do get really good people, they’re going to be way overstressed because they’re working long hours, because air-traffic controllers are short staffed.
“And we have known going back years … I was on the Commerce Committee in the Senate. We knew for years that we had a shortage at air-traffic control.
“Well, part of the reason why we had a shortage at air-traffic control is because we were telling our air-traffic controllers not to hire people because of the color of their skin. That is a scandal, and it is a scandal, thankfully, that has stopped under the leadership of President Trump.
“It’s why I’m actually optimistic about aviation safety, but it’s also why we’ve had too many near misses and, unfortunately, a fatal crash just a couple days ago.”
Bartiromo asked the vice president: “Do you have any if evidence that any of those hires that were there at the control Wednesday night were DEI hires?”
Vance replied: “The president’s been very clear about, this is in the saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire, but let’s just say, first of all, we should investigate everything. But let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons.
There is a very correct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air-traffic controllers. That has to stop. And, by the way, it’s so funny the me, the media has … picked up on this. The president made very clear that he wasn’t blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air-traffic controllers to be short staffed.
“That is a scandal. Thankfully, the it’s a scandal that the president has stopped.”
‘That is a scandal’: @JDVance unloads on Obama and Biden’s denial of white air-traffic controllers ‘because of the color of their skin’
‘It means we don’t have the best and the brightest sometimes in these positions. But even more importantly than that, even when we do get… pic.twitter.com/9WcabyTljl
— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) February 2, 2025
Vance was also asked if he plans to run for president in 2028.
“We’ll see what happens come 2028,” he responded.
“The best thing for my future is actually the best thing for the American people which is that we do a really good job over the next three and a half years. So, we’ll cross the political bridge when we come to it.
“I’m not thinking about running for president. I’m thinking about doing a good job for the American people and I think the best way to do that is to make sure President Trump is a success.”
Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews