MAGA Republican President Donald Trump took to his own social media platform again to rant about his own petty problems and spread misinformation.
This time his rage was directed at air traffic controllers who are being asked to work without pay during the Republican government shutdown—the GOP controls the White House, House of Representatives, and Senate.
The last shutdown was also during a Trump presidency, in 2018, when the GOP also used the lives and livelihoods of Americans to coerce Democrats to accept unpopular Republican budget proposals.
Last time, Republicans wanted big tax cuts and credits for the wealthy and Trump wanted his border wall funded. This time, the GOP wants to make healthcare less affordable for working and middle class Americans.
During government shutdowns, federal workers deemed essential personnel—or excepted from furlough—are required to work, barring illness or other previously approved time off. There is no guarantee that once a new fiscal year budget or continuing resolution authority is passed by Congress that those workers—or the workers furloughed—will receive backpay.
Air traffic controllers are classified as essential personnel, but not all of them are canceling their scheduled leave or reporting to work when ill. And support staff and new hires are not deemed essential personnel, so airports are operating with just a skeleton crew of air traffic controllers being asked to do more, leaving many airports in a bind and controllers facing difficult decisions.
A spate of aircraft accidents and near misses in the skies over the United States were blamed on air traffic control staffing shortages caused by Trump's DOGE agency making random cuts, eliminating all probationary and temporary employees across the board, with no idea what the impact would be.
On Sunday, Trump's Transportation Secretary—former hard-partying MTV's The Real World: Boston and Road Rules participant turned resigning Wisconsin Republican Representative Sean Duffy—told CNN:
"We have controllers who, again, are making decisions to feed their families as opposed to come to towers or [Terminal Radar Approach Control] or centers and do their jobs. I want them to come to work. The problem is they’re confronted with real economic problems."
But on Monday morning, the POTUS posted:
"All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially 'docked'. For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the 'Democrat Shutdown Hoax', I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country."
"For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU. You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country."
"You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record. If you want to leave service in the near future, please do not hesitate to do so, with NO payment or severance of any kind!"
"You will be quickly replaced by true Patriots, who will do a better job on the Brand New State of the Art Equipment, the best in the World, that we are in the process of ordering. The last 'Administration' wasted Billions of Dollars trying to fix antiquated 'junk.' They had no idea what they were doing!"
"Again, to our great American Patriots, GOD BLESS YOU - I won’t be able to send your money fast enough! To all others, REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY. GOD BLESS AMERICA! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
As expected, Duffy sang a very different tune after Trump's post, writing on X:
"I agree [President Trump]. Air traffic controllers NEED to show up for work! To those who have worked throughout the shutdown — thank you for your patriotism and commitment to keeping our skies safe. I will work with Congress to reward your commitment."
But unlike Duffy, Democratic President Joe Biden's Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, felt no such compunction to kiss Trump's posterior.
Buttigieg responded to Trump's tantrum very differently, writing:
"The President wouldn’t last five minutes as an air traffic controller and after everything they’ve been through — and the way this administration has treated them from Day One — he has no business sh*tting on them now."
Buttigieg included a post from Spectrum News White House correspondent Taylor Popielarz, who noted:
"President Trump to air traffic controllers, who faced staffing shortages before the government shutdown and have been forced to work throughout it without pay..."
That night, Buttigieg responded in more detail in a video filmed in his kitchen after he and his husband Chasten put their 4-year-old twins to bed.
The video was captioned:
"Why is Trump going after America's air traffic controllers, today of all days?"
Monday was the eve of Veterans Day and many air traffic controllers are military veterans, as is Pete Buttigieg. No one in the Trump family has served in the military in any capacity for at least four generations.
Trump infamously referred to military veterans as "suckers" and "losers"—something a member of his own administration corroborated.
Buttigieg added:
"It's one more way to distract from his decision to increase your health insurance premiums."
The video included both a clip of Trump attacking Buttigieg as incompetent and Trump's Truth Social post. Buttigieg shared that someone had sent him the clip of Trump in the Oval Office first mocking his name to the cackling of some offscreen sycophant, then telling a story mocking his tenure as Transportation Secretary.
Buttigieg stated:
"Now, other than mostly pronouncing my name right, everything else [Trump] said was wrong."
While Trump lying and projecting his own failures on others would come as no surprise to anyone paying even the slightest attention to Trump's presidencies, Buttigieg backed up his statement.
He continued:
"[Trump] told a story about what's going on with air traffic control that's both false and confusing. He just made a bunch of sh*t up about air traffic control."
"This was a system that was in pretty rough shape by the time [Trump] lost in 2020, and we took it over. So we improved it, including launching a longterm communications fix that is still underway that he is now passing off as his idea."
The crumbling American infrastructure was a talking point in the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.
Throughout his first term, Trump promised an infrastructure—and healthcare—plan was forthcoming, but none ever materialized. The Biden administration delivered the largest investment in American infrastructure since FDR, plans Republicans voted against but then took credit for.
Buttigieg added:
"And thanks to our work, this year [Trump] became the first President in decades to inherit an air traffic control workforce that was actually growing instead of shrinking. The most important part of the whole system is the air traffic controllers themselves, which is why it is disgraceful that the President went on ssocial media earlier today and attacked controllers after everything they’ve been through."
The former Transportation Secretary pointed out it's all another distraction from Trump's failures and foibles, increasing healthcare costs and tanking the economy while prices continue to climb.
Buttigieg concluded by saying:
"So for everyone who wants change, let's stay focused. Let's keep the pressure on. Let's take the same energy that saw Democrats dominating election day last week, and carry it into next year and beyond."
People concurred with Buttigieg's assessment of Trump's latest tantrum, tearing down others' legitimate accomplishments with lies and misinformation to mask his own failures and incompetent administration.
@PeteButtigieg/X
@PeteButtigieg/X
Some felt Trump needed a distraction from more than his failures and Duffy's incompetence.
The Republican government shutdown is going on its 43rd day, the longest in U.S. history.
