The Democratic Party seems to have a real allergy to the idea of Americans behaving like civilized adults while traveling. Just last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reminded holiday travelers that the “Golden Age of Travel” starts with basic manners — you know, being polite, dressing like you’re in public, that sort of thing. And predictably, the Left reacted as if he’d proposed reinstating top hats and white gloves rather than simply asking people not to act feral in an airport.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Duffy for this and expressed his discontent over the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate penalties for airlines that postponed or canceled flights:
Sean Duffy eliminated fines for airlines that delay or cancel your flights — making it easier for them to disrupt your travel.
His grand alternative?? Wear a nice dress on the plane. https://t.co/6ef0r45RPL
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 22, 2025
Cue Liz Warren, who jumped on the bandwagon:
Trump ripped away rules to make airlines compensate you for canceled flights.
Trump fired air traffic control staff.
Flight disruptions are causing chaos.
What does the Secretary of Transportation have to say? Dress for success. https://t.co/6fpR3HvhOT
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 25, 2025
Naturally, Democrats can’t seem to grasp the most basic economic reality: airlines didn’t “pay” those fines — passengers did. The costs were simply folded into higher ticket prices, because contrary to left-wing fantasy, big corporations don’t magically absorb government-imposed expenses out of the goodness of their hearts. They pass them on to consumers. Always.
And let’s be honest: delays and cancellations aren’t always the result of corporate greed or incompetence. Sometimes they’re necessary safety calls. Speaking only for myself, I’d much rather sit in an airport for an extra hour to make sure the aircraft is actually flight-worthy than end up in a flaming wreck because politicians wanted to score points on cable news.
Then of course, there’s the fact that Warren voted with most other Democrats more than 15 times to keep the government closed for a historic period of time — during which air traffic controllers were required to be at their posts but weren’t getting paid.
Then there’s Secretary Duffy’s response; he didn’t let Warren’s grandstanding go unanswered. He reminded everyone that she voted against a bill that would have invested $12.5 billion to modernize America’s aging air traffic control system — the very upgrades that would reduce delays, improve safety, and make flying smoother for everyone.
Senator Warren voted against $12.5 billion to modernize America’s air traffic control system. https://t.co/Am9CunYFtc
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 26, 2025
Duffy is absolutely right. President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) did include major funding for ATC upgrades and broader infrastructure improvements. It was billed as a “modernization down-payment,” aimed at updating radar systems, telecom networks, control centers, and recapitalizing Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities.
One X user asked what I was thinking: “Is her reason to not upgrade the system because she doesn’t like people not receiving cancellation money?”
Perhaps, but it’s also because this was a piece of legislation backed by President Trump, so it wouldn’t have mattered if it would have funded cures for every known killer disease and awarded each American family a warm, fuzzy puppy – Warren would have opposed it.
There’s also this, because…Democrats:
If they let you fix the broken systems, they can’t parade around signing about all the broken systems…and they can’t blame them on Trump if they are no longer broken. I know it sounds confusing but trust me that’s their plan.
— Peter Sansone (@PMSansone) November 26, 2025
