President Donald Trump has issued his first public response to the nationwide flight shutdown, after CNN’s Dana Bash challenged Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over why the president appeared to be ‘missing’ during the disruption.
Following Friday’s chaos, Trump addressed the crisis on Sunday, criticizing the US air traffic control system and blaming former president Joe Biden and the country’s outdated infrastructure for the outage.
‘If Congress approves the desperately needed money for Air Traffic Control, we can get it built quickly and efficiently,’ he wrote on Sunday morning.
‘It will be the BEST SYSTEM anywhere in the world. Much of our current air control system is 50 years old – RIDICULOUS!
‘We have already started the work, but it should be done all at once, not in drips and drabs. Congress must approve. The Biden Administration set it back years!’
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded every flight in the US at approximately 4pm Friday after a communications failure affected air traffic control centers.
It was the first nationwide flight grounding in the country since the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.
Duffy blamed Congress for failing to provide funding for a modern system capable of preventing similar disruptions and called for approximately $50 billion to overhaul the network.
‘What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,’ he said earlier Friday. ‘Give us the money to fix it.’
After Friday’s chaos, Trump issued his first public response on Sunday, criticizing the US air traffic control system and blaming former president Joe Biden and outdated infrastructure for the outage
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights in the US at approximately 4pm Friday after a communications failure at air traffic control centers. A nationwide grounding had not occurred since the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City
Trump’s statement came roughly a day and a half after the disruption grounded every US flight and triggered delays affecting thousands of passengers.
Before the president spoke publicly, however, Bash confronted Duffy during an interview, questioning why Trump had been ‘missing’ as the crisis unfolded.
‘There was no information for a while about what was happening. People were scared; they didn’t know whether it was a cyberattack, rogue AI or something else,’ Bash said.
‘The president just made his first real public comment about this on social media this morning. Didn’t Americans deserve to hear from him while this was happening?’
Duffy said he and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had been on a flight when the disruption began. After landing, he said, they went ‘right to the White House.’
‘I was in the Oval Office with Markwayne, and we were talking to the president. The president told Stephen Miller this is a whole-of-government approach. So, we were on a call with DNI, NSA, CISA and the FBI,’ Duffy said before Bash interrupted.
‘Why didn’t we hear from the president publicly … he was posting on social media,’ she began, before expressing her frustration.
‘But that’s what’s so stunning about it! He was posting on social media about the [Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act], along with multiple posts about revitalizing a golf course. That’s why it’s so noteworthy that we didn’t hear from him for almost a day and a half.’
The president faced criticism from CNN’s Dana Bash as she questioned Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about why Trump appeared to be ‘missing’ during the crisis
Duffy said he had been ‘in constant contact’ with the president, who he described as ‘fully engaged,’ adding that Trump had offered him ‘whatever resource, in any other department that you need’ as the response continued
Duffy rejected the suggestion that Trump had been disengaged, insisting that he was in ‘constant contact’ with the president, who he said was ‘fully engaged.’
‘Because this is important to him and it’s important to America. Markwayne and I were fully engaged with the president in the Oval Office. I spoke to him before the press conference and again afterward,’ he said.
‘His engagement has been remarkable, and his understanding of the need for Republicans and Democrats to come together to get this done is, I think, a sign of great leadership. The president is fully supportive, fully engaged and fully aware of what is happening.’
Duffy said Trump told him that, as the response progressed, he would provide ‘whatever resource, in any other department that you need.’
‘You can pull them. I want everybody to work on this. The safety of the traveling public is number one for him, just as it is for me,’ Duffy said.
Duffy was also undertaking what media strategists call a ‘Full Ginsburg’—appearing on all five major Sunday public affairs television programs in a single morning.
The strategy is typically used to maximize exposure and deliver consistent messaging to audiences across different media platforms.
On Sunday, Duffy said Congress had provided $12.5 billion, which he plans to use for new radios, radar systems, electronic flight strips and modern telecommunications lines
At approximately 8.15pm ET Friday, Duffy announced that US airspace had reopened, although he warned travelers to expect severe delays.
Earlier that day, Duffy said the problems began shortly before 4pm, when radar and communications systems became unstable.
‘Our switches and routers became overloaded with data and began producing inconsistencies. Because of that, we shut the system down,’ he said.
By 11.30pm, approximately 10,000 flights had been canceled, while experts warned that the disruption could continue affecting air travel for several days.
According to Duffy, tens of thousands of passengers were stranded at airports across the country.
On Sunday, Duffy said Congress had provided $12.5 billion for new radios, radar systems, electronic flight strips and updated telecommunications lines.
‘Every cent is accounted for, and every piece of equipment will be in place by the end of 2028,’ he wrote on X.
‘HERE’S THE CATCH: Congress locked that money into physical hardware, leaving us without the funds to build the core software that makes the system run. Congress will be a vital partner in funding the rest of this build so we can modernize our airspace and make sure Friday never happens again.’
The Daily Mail contacted the White House for comment.
