The president, who equivocated over what to do since the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy, opined that Boeing’s most popular model paled in comparison to his own personal jet, a 757.
By Toluse Olorunnipa and Toluse Olorunnipa White House reporter Email Bio Follow Josh Dawsey Josh Dawsey Reporter covering the White House Email Bio Follow March 13 at 8:57 PM As President Trump consulted with administration officials Wednesday over whether Boeing’s 737 Max jetliners should be grounded after a crash killed more than 150 passengers in Ethiopia over the weekend, he shared his pointed opinion of the type of plane in question.
As governments in China, Australia, the European Union and elsewhere were moving to ground the 737 Max plane on Monday and Tuesday, Trump and his administration were in a holding pattern. The president held daily phone calls with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and other stakeholders, offering his self-proclaimed expertise in public and private. On Twitter, he declared that “airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly.
Federal regulators usually take the lead on making decisions related to safety, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with Teal Group. By Wednesday morning, officials said, Trump had also seen information about the crash from the Canadian government, which then announced it was grounding the model, leaving the U.S. as the only major country where the aircraft was being allowed to operate.
“The president isn’t the right person to do it. Elwell or Chao should have made the announcement,” said Wells, whose 30,000-member group did not call for the planes to be grounded. “But it was Trump who said it. That tells you everything you need to know.”
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