Response to White House Statement with Call to Action

On January 29th, 2025, a tragic aircraft accident claimed the lives of 67 people in Washington, D.C. Immediately following the accident, President Trump participated in a press conference where he blamed the accident on DEI initiatives and disabled folx. Specifically, the White House released the following statement:

This shocking event follows problematic and likely illegal decisions during the Obama and Biden Administrations that minimized merit and competence in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Obama Administration implemented a biographical questionnaire at the FAA to shift the hiring focus away from objective aptitude. During my first term, my Administration raised standards to achieve the highest standards of safety and excellence. But the Biden Administration egregiously rejected merit-based hiring, requiring all executive departments and agencies to implement dangerous “diversity equity and inclusion” tactics, and specifically recruiting individuals with “severe intellectual” disabilities in the FAA.

Atlantis Community, Inc. aligns with other disability rights and disability-led organizations in condemning these comments as dangerous and irresponsible. These types of statements perpetuate stereotypes that promote the idea that disabled folx are incompetent. This act is using the disabled community as a scapegoat that furthers the new administration’s anti-DEI agenda.

As the National Disability Rights Network stated:

People with disabilities proudly serve our nation through government service in every federal department and agency. Disabled employees, like non-disabled employees, are hired because they meet the qualifications needed to do the job. The Federal Aviation Administration has rigorous standards for hiring Air Traffic Controllers and all other FAA employees. Diversity hiring initiatives seek to expand the pool of potential qualified talent for a role – they do not supersede the qualifications and skills that the role requires. The implication that people are being hired to do a job for which they are unqualified is an unfounded lie that further reinforces harmful stereotypes against disabled people.

We must act now. Here’s how you can help:

• Raise Your Voice – Publicly condemn this statement. Call it what it is: a dangerous lie that undermines the skills, qualifications, and contributions of disabled workers.
• Engage with Media – Write and publish your thoughts by starting a blog, share posts, and contact journalists. We need to flood the conversation with facts, not fear-mongering.
• Hold Leaders Accountable – Call and email your representatives, demanding they speak out against these harmful remarks. Silence is complicity.
• Support Disabled Workers – Affirm that disabled professionals are just as skilled, competent, and valuable as any other workers. Employers must continue hiring based on qualifications—not political scapegoating.
• Stay United – This attack is not just on disabled workers in aviation—it’s an attack on all of us. We must respond forcefully, factually, and collectively.
We refuse to let lies justify discrimination. We demand respect, dignity, and the right to work without being used as political scapegoats.

Disability is not a liability.
#DisabilityRights #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs #StopAbleism