WH press secretary shreds Sen. Schumer for blaming Trump for Canada plane crash

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt ripped Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for blaming President Donald Trump for the Delta airliner that crash-landed upside-down in Toronto.

During an interview on “America Reports” on Tuesday, she blasted the lawmaker for saying that Trump’s recent cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration’s workforce contributed to the accident.  

“It’s incredibly irresponsible for Chuck Schumer to say such a thing when the investigation is still underway,” Leavitt said.

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A Delta Air Lines plane that departed from Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport on Monday crashed upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Video of the incident showed the plane touching down and rolling over onto its top side amid an eruption of flames. 

Footage of the crash’s aftermath showed the plane upside-down as passengers scrambled out of the passenger doors. All 80 passengers survived the crash, although 18 were injured, three of whom suffered critical injuries.

The crash sparked some political debate on X, with Schumer pointing the finger at Trump for what happened. In a series of posts, he stated, “I’m thankful that everyone in the flight incident in Toronto that took off from Minneapolis is safe, but we keep seeing these incidents day after day. Meanwhile, Trump’s doing massive layoffs at the FAA – including safety specialists – and making our skies less and less safe.” 

“Democrats are fighting to protect the flying public,” he added. In a subsequent post, Schumer wrote, “To those asking whether it matters that the plane’s destination was in Canada: The flight took off from Minneapolis. The FAA was still responsible for inspecting the aviation equipment, and Trump just let go of FAA safety specialists.”

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Schumer’s social media posts came in the wake of Trump blaming Biden-era FAA standards for contributing to the deadly crash between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last month.

Leavitt repeatedly pushed back against the senator and dissected his claims. She began by noting that Canadian air-traffic controllers were responsible for directing the plane at the time of the crash.

Speaking to “America Reports” co-anchor John Roberts, she said, “And as you rightfully pointed out, John, this crash unfortunately took place in Canadian airspace with Canadian air-traffic controllers overseeing it.”  

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A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, Monday Feb. 17, 2025. (Teresa Barbieri/The Canadian Press via AP)

She then disputed the point about Trump firing FAA officials. “And the facts about the FAA are that no air-traffic controllers have been let go by Secretary Duffy or this new administration. In fact, Secretary Duffy has put great emphasis on hiring the best and the brightest air-traffic controllers who want to be part of the FAA,” she argued.

“And President Trump signed a very strong executive order to ensure that the FAA and all federal government agencies are focused on merit and skill-based hiring,” she continued. “We want the best and the brightest, the most competent individuals in positions especially of public safety at the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and all departments across this federal government, so we can best serve the American people.”

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Leavitt concluded her point by accusing former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration of having “sat on their hands when it came to aviation safety for four years.”