After the tragic D.C. plane crash in January, so much outrage ensued over Trump's comments and the role his cuts to the FAA may have played in the accident that it has become easy to forget the passengers who perished.
U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov, however, is not among those with the privilege of doing so. He lost both of his parents, pairs skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, in the crash.
Of the 67 passengers who died when the American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, 28 were part of the figure skating community.
The March 2 Legacy On Ice raised money for the families of the victims and first responders and honored their memories, Naumov's parents included.
Naumov himself joined the ranks of the skaters in the show, and his deeply affecting tribute to his own parents has broken hearts all over the internet.
Naumov opened his performance by carrying two white roses representing his parents onto the ice with him. His routine began with a reference to their loss, as Naumov mimed holding two invisible hands beside him.
At the end of the routine, Naumov fell to his knees and openly wept to thunderous, supportive applause from the audience.
That support was a stark contrast to the way the President handled the crash, which he blamed on Joe Biden forcing the FAA to hire "individuals with 'severe intellectual' disabilities" and other such nonsense.
The well wishes Naumov received in the skating arena extended onto social media. People were deeply moved by his performance and the memorial it represents to a truly awful and likely avoidable tragedy.
Naumov's parents are no doubt looking down on him, beaming with pride.
@mikeredmond/Bluesky
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
