Donald Trump has faced scrutiny and ridicule after he tweeted about aviation safety.
There were no commercial passenger jet deaths in the world in 2017 and the US president took to Twitter to suggest he had a role in this figure.
Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news – it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
“Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation,” wrote Trump, referencing the fatality report by Dutch aviation consultancy To70 and the Aviation Safety Network.
However, according to a fact check by the Associated Press, reductions to passenger airline deaths should be credited largely to aircraft safety systems – as well as other improvements such as safety programmes adopted by airlines.
Meanwhile, Trump has imposed no new major safety regulations on passenger airlines in his first year in office. He has also not moved forward important aviation safety regulation from Barack Obama’s administration banning shipments of lithium batteries on passenger planes due to fire concerns.
It is a little known fact that all commercial pilots and air traffic controllers are now told, when they come on duty, that Donald Trump is the president and they need to be extra primo careful. Narcissism is too gentle a word; this stuff is batshit crazy. https://t.co/D7zHv0oTKw
— David Simon (@AoDespair) January 2, 2018
Such has been the outrage at Trump’s apparent attempt to take credit for the statistic, some decided to get creative in their mocking.
“Not a bear in sight. The bear patrol must be working like a charm.” https://t.co/8Lsq1096v0
— Norm Wilner (@normwilner) January 2, 2018
Since I began shouting BE MORE CAREFUL PLANE WANKERS at the sky, not a single death has happened, the best and safest year on record! https://t.co/lz0u0RgYZM
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) January 2, 2018
If Trump was a rooster, he’d try to take credit for the sunrise. https://t.co/skM1Y2Szjj
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) January 2, 2018
While others wanted to point out there was a risk of double standards here.
So @realDonaldTrump does this mean you’re willing to take responsibility for all the gun deaths in 2017? https://t.co/XxbT9Xi3cz
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) January 2, 2018
On the other side of the fence however, some appeared to suggest Trump was being deliberately provocative and trolling his followers with the tweet.
Troll level 11. https://t.co/z4znB8QpxE
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 2, 2018
