Over the past 48 hours we’ve seen a growing number of countries and airlines ground the 737 MAX. At this point the US and Canada are exceptions in not having announced any sort of grounding of the aircraft type.

The FAA has issued a continued airworthiness notice for the plane, and noted that they won’t take action based on what we know now, and that’s about the only official government commentary we’ve had.

Well, just now President Trump took to Twitter to chime in:

Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!

Trump is essentially saying that he thinks it’s a bad thing how automated planes have become. Fair enough.

I do think it’s interesting to note his Tweet from early 2018, where he stated the following:

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!

As he explained, him “being very strict on Commercial Aviation” contributed to it being the safest year on record for aviation.

I don’t want to overanalyze here, but it sure seems to me like he’s suggesting at this point aviation isn’t as safe as it could be due to over-automation, and he has also said he is very strict on commercial aviation.

Could we see Trump take action here? Is this an area in which he could issue a national emergency? For the record, this is a genuine question… I’m not trolling.