California Governor Gavin Newsom has proved once again that there’s an inconvenient MAGA photo for just about every trolling occasion.
On Monday, Newsom set his sights on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who can’t seem to put his weird crusade against comfort while traveling to rest.
Speaking with reporters at Newark International Airport in New Jersey on Monday, Duffy, 54, once again pushed his “civility campaign” for airport travelers forward, stressing the importance of his efforts to “restore courtesy and class to air travel,” especially in anticipation of the holiday season-induced travel rush.
“I think it’s important as we travel that we think about not just ourselves, not just our families, but we think about those who are around us,” Duffy said. “Maybe we should say please and thank you to our pilots and to our flight attendants.”
“Dressing with respect—whether it’s a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave a little better," he continued. “Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport.”
“Let’s all travel better together,” the reality star-turned-politician continued. “Don’t take your shoes off and put your feet on... the chair ahead of you. Maybe don’t play your movie without headphones on. Just some simple things that can annoy the folks around you... We don’t have to do that. Just be cognizant and courteous.”
In response to Duffy’s comments about passengers kicking off their shoes, Newsom’s Press Office X account posted a photo of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proudly walking through a plane barefoot.
The offending photo of the 71-year-old vaccine skeptic, which surfaced in November 2023, shows RFK Jr. in a t-shirt and jeans walking barefoot from what appears to be the airplane’s bathroom, leading to questions about hygiene.
A spokesperson from the Department of Transport said its campaign titled The Golden Age of Travel Starts With You is designed to “restore courtesy and class to air travel.”
“This won’t just make the travel experience better for the flying public—it will ensure the safety of passengers, gate workers, flight attendants, and pilots,” the spokesperson told the Daily Beast. “Whether it’s thanking your gate agents, flight attendants, and pilots, or helping someone struggling to store their baggage in an overhead compartment, the Secretary is calling on every American to exercise a little kindness that can make a big impact in the lives of others.”
Former professional lumberjack Duffy admitted he “can’t legislate” people to behave and dress better when flying.
“You won’t get a better result unless you make the ask, so I’m just making the ask. I think it honors our country, it honors our families. It honors our fellow passengers. I think we can do a better job.”
Duffy’s comments mirrored sentiments he shared during a Fox Business Network interview on Thursday, where he said that “the golden age in transportation truly begins with you, the passenger.”
“If you just watch social media, you have brawls at the baggage claim, you have passengers berating gate agents. We have unruly passengers on airplanes. People dress up like they’re going to bed when they fly,” Duffy told former flight attendant Cheryl Casone.
On Monday, Duffy also said his “civility” campaign meant passengers could arrive home to their families for Thanksgiving with “a better attitude.”
“You guys can fight about politics when you get home for Thanksgiving,” he said. “Let’s have this be the pre-run that is politics-free and very friendly with please and thank yous and a lot of gratitude for all the work that happens to get you to your final destination.”
Internet users were quick to pile on Duffy’s excessive focus on what travelers wear to the airport—pointing out the ridiculousness of equating clothing choices to actual problems with air travel.
Responding to a video of Duffy’s appearance at Newark airport shared to X by journalist Aaron Rupar, @libdunkmedia said, “Shouldn’t he be telling the airlines to make planes more comfortable... not you know people dressing for the 1 cubic foot of space they’re currently afforded.”
“Why is he so obsessed with this?” wrote X user @CahnEmily.
Sharing a screenshot detailing the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate cash compensation requirements for delayed passengers, X user @womandalorian27 responded,″so now it’s OK for airlines to delay or cancel our flights without compensation, but we’re expected to ‘dress up’ for them? go f--- yourself."
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment.
Duffy’s ongoing efforts to police air travelers’ sartorial choices come amid a historic period of air safety concerns.
In the wake of October’s federal government shutdown, the longest in American history, thousands of flights were canceled and flight schedules were reduced significantly in response to a shortage of working air traffic controllers.
