In a recent display of verbal gymnastics that could rival a Cirque du Soleil performance, Donald Trump took to the stage to address a pressing issue: a purported “crisis” in the United States air traffic control system. His remarks, however, veered into a chaotic mix of finger-pointing and nonsensical rambling, particularly directed at former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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Trump proclaimed:
âI was all set before we had the rigged election to give out a brand new, gorgeous system to one company that was gonna do it all.â
âOne of the best companies in the world that you know very well, there are three or four of ’em that do it. And when they took over Buttigieg, who has no clue. You know, he drives to work on his bicycle with his husband on the back, which is a nice, loving relationship.â
âBut he didnât have a clue. This guy didnât know what he was doing and he took what they call dry systems where you have wires buried in the earth. And then you had the open-air systems where you have satellites, and you canât mesh them.â
âThey spent tens of billions of dollars trying to merge old, broken equipment with new systems. Wow. They spent like $40 billion and made it worse because it doesnât work together.â
âYou could have bought a whole new system.â
âSo we have a very good guy who you all know, Sean Duffy is head of Transportation, and Iâve given him a 10-minute lesson in buying, and heâs become really good. We are now in the market to buy a gorgeous, brand new system.â
âThe helicopter that crashed into the plane at 400 feet shouldnât have happened. There would have been bells and sirens going off three minutes before that accident if you had the right equipment.â
âBut we have an obsolete system, and what they did is the worst. You canât combine the really old, broken stuff with the new stuff.â
âSo, do you think Biden figured this out? I donât think so. He doesnât know what the hell is happening. Hereâs the story: Weâre gonna buy a brand new, state-of-the-art system soon.â
And as Trump continued his soliloquy, the narrative took an even more convoluted turn, with him boasting about his pilotsâmilitary and otherwiseâwhile conveniently ignoring the reality that his claims of a revolutionary air traffic control system were nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
The truth is, such a monumental overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system cannot be executed unilaterally by the president. It necessitates congressional approval and fundingâa fact that Trump seems blissfully unaware of amidst his tirade.
Meanwhile, itâs worth noting that Buttigieg has actually taken significant steps to reverse decades of decline in air traffic controller staffing, exceeding his goal of hiring 1,800 new controllers by 2024. In stark contrast, when Trump took office, he initiated cuts that undermined these critical hires and dismantled essential leadership structures.
Ultimately, this situation is a product of Trumpâs own making, and his attempts to lay blame at Buttigieg’s feet are not only misplaced but also a distraction from his administration’s past missteps.
What are your thoughts on Trumpâs recent outburst? Share your comments below.

