President Joe Biden appeared to suggest on Wednesday that airlines were engaging in racial discrimination when they charged a premium for seats with more legroom, saying that “people of color” were most impacted by the additional fees.
The president was addressing what he referred to as “junk fees” — from concert ticket “processing fees” and additional booking fees tacked on by resorts and hotels to fees charged by airlines to guarantee a seat with a little more space between the purchased seat and the seat directly in front of it — and he argued that those fees disproportionately impacted those with lower income levels in addition to “people of color.”
WATCH:
Biden: "Some airlines, if you want six more inches between you and the seat in front, you pay more money but you don't know it … these are junk fees, they're unfair and they hit marginalized Americans the hardest, especially … people of color."pic.twitter.com/CItQrOjaXP
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) October 26, 2022
“Some airlines, if you want six more inches between you and the seat in front, you pay more money, but you don’t know it until you purchase your ticket,” Biden claimed. “Look, folks, these are junk fees – they’re unfair and they’re hitting marginalized Americans the hardest, especially low-income folks and people of color. They benefit big corporations, not consumers, not working families. And that changes now.”
Red State Deputy Managing Editor Kira Davis was quick to call out the president for what she said looked to be the Democrats’ new strategy. “Tell me the last thing you did … and add ‘people of color hardest hit.’ That seems to be the Democrat strategy these days … just tack on ‘people of color’ to any old statement. I just made a sandwich. #PeopleOfColorHardestHit.”
Tell me the last thing you did…and add "people of color hardest hit." That seems to be the Democrat strategy these days…just tack on "people of color" to any old statement.
I just made a sandwich. #PeopleOfColorHardestHit https://t.co/hOiNV8hh3u— Kira (@RealKiraDavis) October 26, 2022
“Airline ticketing is now ‘racist.’ Easy for a dude to say who flies an Air Force 747-200 to Delaware every weekend. Has there ever been a more tone deaf president?” Red State’s Buzz Patterson added.
“Is Biden saying people of color are all poor??” @HodgeTwins asked. “Never knew seats on an airplane were racist.”
National Review’s Jim Geraghty added, “Less than 2 weeks until the midterm elections, and the president of the United States is in Washington, talking about the amount of legroom on airlines.”
Less than 2 weeks until the midterm elections, and the president of the United States is in Washington, talking about the amount of legroom on airlines. https://t.co/2bfQKlK0wb
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) October 26, 2022
“Sometimes it feels like @JoeBiden saw that old Eddie Murphy ‘White Like Me’ SNL skit and didn’t realize it was satire,” radio host KC O’Dea commented.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs (former WWE wrestler Kane) joked, “I have long felt that airline seating is extraordinarily unfair to oversized people such as myself and warrants Federal intervention. Thanks to @POTUS for giving this crucial issue the attention it deserves. (For those lacking a sense of humor, this is called sarcasm.)”
I have long felt that airline seating is extraordinarily unfair to oversized people such as myself and warrants Federal intervention. Thanks to @POTUS for giving this crucial issue the attention it deserves. (For those lacking a sense of humor, this is called sarcasm) https://t.co/yn3KPJo5yC
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) October 26, 2022
Americano Media’s Emmanuel Rincón took a different approach and objected to the idea that Biden was essentially telling private businesses how they could and could not operate, tweeting, “Biden now wants to tell private companies how to run their businesses. A politician should never have the power to interfere in executive decisions of companies (whether you agree or not), this is an abuse of power.”
🚨 | Biden ahora quiere decirle a las empresas privadas como manejar sus negocios. Un político no debería nunca tener la potestad de entrometerse en decisiones ejecutivas de las empresas (esté usted de acuerdo o no), esto es un abuso de poder. https://t.co/Jl9SQHJZN7
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) October 26, 2022