WASHINGTON >> As the nation reeled from the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades, President Donald Trump on Thursday baselessly blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety and questioned the actions of an Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a commercial airliner.

Sixty-seven people are believed to have died in the Wednesday evening crash, which occurred while a flight from Wichita, Kan., was landing at Washington Reagan National Airport. As Trump spoke, the federal investigation was just beginning and first responders were still working to recover bodies from the Potomac River.

Officials have not yet to formally establish the causes of the collision, and Trump himself acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the country to pray for the victims. But he quickly moved to engage in speculation and political attacks, at a moment when Americans traditionally look to the presidency for comfort, assurance and facts.

“Some really bad things happened and some things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” the Republican president said from the White House briefing room, just over three miles or five kilometers from the scene of the disaster.

Trump blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for encouraging the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.” He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”

Trump did not share any evidence that unqualified people were being put in critical positions like air traffic control, and he acknowledged that there was as yet no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes.

Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Trump said, “because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be brilliant to ensure safety.

“They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”

Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s transportation secretary and was a contender to challenge Trump for the White House in 2020, calling him “a disaster.”

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said, adding profanity to his description of Buttigieg.

Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.”

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” he added.

As if to underscore Trump’s point, the White House invited reporters into the Oval Office to watch him sign another executive order that officials said would stop “woke policies” in federal aviation. Trump had already signed an executive order ending diversity initiatives at the FAA last week.

“We want the most competent people,” Trump said. “We don’t care what race they are.”

Asked if he plans to visit the crash site, Trump said he would meet with family members of the victims.

“What’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?” the president said.

The plane crash was the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020.