UPDATE: I'm not the guy who got kicked off the plane, I just saw it happen. I sat in front of Ivanka for the whole flight.
And as she flies commercial DT announces he wants to "greatly increase" our nuclear arsenal.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38410027
These are facts. Let's stay focused people.
Below is what I saw first hand.
That's me and my son in the photo you see on the internet. I was on the flight with Ivanka (not the guy who got removed). I am sitting in the next row up from Ivanka and surrounded by her family. The whole incident happened literally 15 inches from me. The article is sensationalizing this a little. Here is what happened.
A man got on and got upset about her and her family. He didn't accost her directly.
When he got on and saw her, sitting behind me, he said "oh my god. This is a nightmare" and was visibly shaking. He said "they ruin the country now they ruin our flight!" (Context: Boarding and therefore the flight was delayed because they needed to get on first through some other way)
He did not yell. He was also not what I would describe as calm. Agitated for sure. His husband behind him was very calm. His son is adorable and sharply dressed.
When the JetBlue staff went back to speak to the man I overheard Ivanka say to them "I don't want to make this a thing." My assessment is that she was happy to let the man take his seat. She handled the situation calmly and with class. Security made the call to remove the man.
And for good reason. The man's calm husband had tweeted earlier that his husband was "chasing them down to harass them."
I did not witness his actual removal some rows back. If he screamed, I didn't hear it.
Honestly, if I was her security I would have made the same call. I don't _think_ the man was capable of violence, sure. But I would worry that he would leave his seat or cause a scene in some way. And his husband had tweeted that he planned on doing that. So, again you know my politics, but I would have made the same call here.
Those are the facts.
Dems and GOP both demand close players to answer for the actions of their administrations. Both sides vilify others just for liking or disliking candidates or representatives. Ivanka and Jared look to play major roles in our new administration and so I am sure they expect to answer for the actions of Donald even if their views differ.
And no, no, no you don't get to stay on the plane if you choose to play into that expectation. I would have ejected him too. Fwiw she was a class act today. That should be expected and not remarkable.
The energy spent on this one blip in the news cycle could better be spent trying to figure out how we can work together to create a better life for everyone in the US, from the white and black working classes to American businesses of all sizes, and beyond.
