Last Updated on October 15, 2020
Video footage shows a Donald Trump supporter wearing a matching “Black Voices For Trump” hat and face mask being ordered off of a Southwest Airlines flight by staff for temporarily lowering his mask to eat a handful of peanuts. The crew threaten to have the police drag the man, who is black, off the plane if he does not comply with their demands.
The encounter was filmed and posted on YouTube by KrisAnne Hall, who provided some brief background information on the incident in the video description: “It was his first flight on Southwest ever. It was his first flight since COVID. He was eating and drinking coffee. They said he was being kicked off for not wearing his mask- but he was eating.”
Hall added, “They refused to answer my questions about their policy. These Southwest employees violated policy to remove our friend from the plane and there was no other reason than they didn’t like his Trump wear.”
In the video, a white Southwest employee tells the passenger of color, “Right now, you’re not getting on this airplane. The crew does not want you aboard.”
When asked what policy the passenger had breached by eating peanuts while not wearing a mask, the Southwest employee could only repeat that the crew did not want the man on the plane. Crew members can be seen watching the conversation with their hands on their hips from the front area of the cabin.
They KICKED this man off a @SouthwestAir flight for taking off his mask to eat. All the surrounding passengers defended him. https://t.co/WSK5LSZ62R
— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) October 14, 2020
In a second portion of the video, the crew members continue to refuse to clarify what transgression the passenger had committed to make them “deny boarding” to him.
https://twitter.com/SVNewsAlerts/status/1316157525981630465
The video drew significant attention online, including defenses of the passenger by high-profile indivduals such as the President’s son Donald trump, Jr.
“This is disgusting. I’ve been on a thousand flights in the last few months and everyone lowers their masks to eat and drink,” Trump Jr. said. “I did it on a Southwest flight earlier this week.”
WTF??? This is disgusting. I’ve been on a thousand flights in the last few months and everyone lowers their masks to eat and drink. I did it on a southwest flight earlier this week. https://t.co/yQxUcbduwp
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 14, 2020
The full version of the video can be seen below.
