Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has revealed that the company has placed certain Trump supporters on its no-fly list after they harassed GOP Senators Mitt Romney (Utah) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), both of whom opposed the Republican effort to object to the Congressional certification of some of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral votes. “Bastian said Delta has placed passengers involved in incidents that targeted senators Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham on its no-fly list,” Reuters reports, amidst a heightened nationwide focus on Trump-inspired violence after last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, which is connected to at least five deaths and led to Trump’s second impeachment.
The incident involving Graham unfolded on Friday, a couple of days after the Wednesday violence at the Capitol. At the Ronald Reagan International Airport, which is in the D.C. area, Trump supporters who appeared to be in the vicinity of the airport’s gates shouted out that Graham was a “traitor.” One of the individuals involved in the incident, pro-Trump agitator Mindy Robinson, ranted that Graham “better enjoy Gitmo” — which is, of course, entirely unhinged. Nobody is going to be sending the political opponents of disgraced soon-to-be ex-President Donald Trump to Guantanamo Bay, but this nonsense is what certain factions of Trump’s base are spreading.
Trump and a number of his top allies have openly incited violence like the rioting at the Capitol and the heated airport confrontations between certain GOP Senators and Trump supporters. At an outdoor event in D.C. prior to the deadly Capitol rioting, prominent Trump defender Rudy Giuliani called for “trial by combat,” while — among many other examples — newly sworn in North Carolina Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn pushed the idea for Trump supporters to “lightly threaten” members of Congress who don’t agree with their political perspectives. Underlying all of this vitriol is the lie that Trump and these allies pushed that the recently concluded presidential election was rigged in Biden’s favor.
Conservatives like Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) have pushed the idea that conservatives are being systematically silenced by conspiratorial censors, or whatever — which is ridiculous. Jordan pushed this idea while speaking on the floor of the U.S. House while being broadcast on national television. Individuals who’ve faced penalties like getting added to Delta’s no-fly list are facing consequences over their violence and threats. Pretending like these clear precursors for the restrictive consequences don’t exist is just ridiculous.
