Incident at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
In a dramatic turn of events, a supporter of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement was removed from a Delta Airlines flight at Florida’s Sarasota Bradenton International Airport on Saturday morning due to his provocative attire.
The individual wore a t-shirt depicting former President Donald Trump giving the middle finger, paired with a suggestive reference to the viral Hawk Tuah girl video. The incident quickly drew attention and sparked discussions online.
Viral video captures the moment
A video clip posted in the Reddit group r/delta showed the agitated man being escorted off the plane while wearing the controversial black shirt. The t-shirt featured an image of Trump sporting American flag sunglasses and flashing his middle fingers. Above the image were the words “HAWK TUAH,” and below was a lewd reference to the viral video featuring Welch.
As he walked down the airplane aisle with his suitcase, the man could be heard saying, “I’m getting kicked off because of my shirt.” He then pointed at the stewardess and read aloud the name tag of the Delta employee assisting in his removal, sarcastically muttering, “Stupid a** Wendy.”
Delta’s response and policy
Delta Airlines’ policy clearly states that the company reserves the right to deny boarding to passengers whose attire “creates an unreasonable risk of offense or annoyance to other passengers.” In this instance, Delta staff had reportedly asked the man to either change his shirt or be denied boarding after receiving complaints from other passengers.
The Reddit user who uploaded the video claimed to have been seated next to the man before boarding. They recounted how an airline employee had approached the man about his shirt, and he initially agreed to turn it inside out. However, just before takeoff, he flipped his shirt back to display the offensive decal, prompting Delta staff to remove him from the flight.
Public reaction
The incident elicited varied reactions on social media. Many users defended Delta’s actions, citing the airline’s dress code policy. One user commented, “Private company enforces a dress code. Seems pretty easy,” while another noted, “Probably got kicked off because of the middle fingers being displayed on the t-shirt. I see lots of MAGA shirts when I fly.”
This incident follows other instances of passionate MAGA supporters making headlines. Recently, another fervent supporter was filmed smashing his television with a sledgehammer while screaming, “Kamala Harris will never be my president” during her Democratic National Convention (DNC) acceptance speech.