Pete Buttigieg Responds to Criticism From Trump

President Trump delivered a blistering criticism of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday over the Potomac plane crash, and Buttigieg has quickly returned fire.

• "Despicable," wrote Buttigieg on X. "As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch."
• In his press conference, Trump called Buttigieg a "disaster" as transportation chief and accused him of lowering safety standards in the name of diversity. Buttigieg, for his part, said one of Trump's first acts of his second term "was to fire and suspend some of the key personnel who helped keep our skies safe. Time for the President to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."

• Axios notes that Buttigieg is widely considered a contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination, adding that this is "one of his strongest rebukes" since Trump took office for the second time.
• Other Democrats have similarly accused Trump of politicizing the plane crash, reports the Hill. "We've just experienced a great tragedy, and the President of the United States has already rushed to politicize it—jumping to outrageous conclusions and undermining ongoing investigations," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. "His comments were grotesque and outrageous and he owes the American people an apology."
• "It's one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per the Washington Post. "It's another," he said, for "the president of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered and families are still being notified."

(More Potomac plane crash stories.)