Washington, DC - Vice President JD Vance has attempted to backtrack on claims made by President Donald Trump that so-called "DEI" policies were to blame for the deadly collision between a jetliner and an army helicopter in Washington DC.

In an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Vance said that while both he and Trump believe air traffic control has a problem with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, there is no evidence that they had any role in the DC plane crash, which killed 67 people.

"So the president’s been very clear about this. This is not saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire," Vance told Bartiromo.

"But let’s just say, first of all, we should investigate everything, but let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons."

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The identities of air traffic controllers involved in the collision between an American Airlines flight and a military helicopter last week have not been revealed.

Trump however has baselessly claimed DEI programs were to blame for staffing shortages which he says may have caused the accident.

In a press conference after the crash, Trump immediately started pointing fingers at former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who he claimed put policy ahead of safety.

"They actually came out with a directive – 'too white.' And we want the people who are competent," Trump falsely claimed.

Despite Trump's ramblings – which continued on social media – Vance tried to side-step these comments on Fox News by pointing fingers at the media for pushing the DEI angle.

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"It’s so funny to me the media has picked up on this," he said. "Not you, of course, Maria, but others have picked up on this."

"The president made very clear that he wasn’t blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short-staffed."