In a briefing that recalled his most extreme first term remarks, President Trump said without any evidence that diversity initiatives caused the midair collision.

President Donald Trump began his White House briefing with a moment of silence and a prayer for the victims of Wednesday’s crash at Reagan National Airport.

There is no evidence that diversity efforts played a role in the crash, and his statements disregarded his own administration’s hiring policies.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected amid the extremely cold and windy conditions.

First thing is the communication between the air traffic control and the helicopter and the plane … There’s no direct communication between the civilian and the military helicopter and airplane. Instead,

Trump variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg, whom he labeled a “disaster.”

Authorities declined to say what may have caused the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night while the investigation is underway, even as President Trump and his allies sought to politicize the incident by blaming diversity efforts.