Donald J. Trump cannot pass the simplest tasks sought from him as he sits in the Oval Office as president of the United States.

One simple task, for example, is for Trump to serve the unwritten role in his office, that of mourner in chief.

A commercial jetliner collided the other evening with an Army helicopter. The crash over the Potomac River killed all 67 people aboard the aircraft. Some TV networks had video of the moment of impact. It is tough to watch.

What was the task awaiting Trump? All he had to do was stand before the nation and offer his condolences for the lives lost; he could have said the NTSB, the FAA, Homeland Security, Reagan National Airport staff all are working overtime to find out what went wrong. He could have pledged the nation’s support for the loved ones who are grieving.

That’s it! That’s all he needed to say!

Except he didn’t stop there. He chose instead to offer conjecture on the cause of the crash. He suggested it might have had something to do with hiring policies that he said diminished the quality of personnel on duty.

Good grief, man! Why can’t this moron just keep his trap shut and stick to what we all know and feel … that the nation is in pain?

That was a simple task that the president of the United States of America failed to perform in stunning fashion.