Southwest Airlines Investigates Pilot’s Anti-Biden ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Chant Over Intercom
A Southwest Airlines pilot was heard saying an anti-Biden chant, "Let's Go, Brandon," over the intercom during a flight, which gained "audible" gasps from some passengers.
The "Let's Go Brandon" chant is an apparent stand-in for "F--k Joe Biden." According to Breitbart, the said phrase started earlier this month when an NBC Sports reporter was interviewing NASCAR driver Brandon Brown after winning his first Xfinity Series at the Talladega Speedway in Alabama.
The crowd behind Brown could be heard chanting "F--k Joe Biden" and the NBC reporter suggested they were chanting, "Let's go, Brandon." It then becomes an alternative phrase of expressing disapproval of President Joe Biden.
According to New York Post, the Southwest Airlines pilot can be heard in a clip of the incident posted on TikTok, telling the passengers "thanks" for flying Southwest Airlines, adding "welcome home and Let's go, Brandon."
The Associated Press reported that the unidentified pilot signed off with the phrase during a flight from Houston, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday.
Associated Press reporter Colleen Long was aboard the flight and heard the slur. Long noted that she was almost removed from the plane after asking the crew to open the cockpit so that she could ask the pilot for comment.
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Southwest Airlines Investigates Pilot Who Used 'Let's Go, Brandon' Phrase
Southwest Airlines said it's already launched an investigation over the pilot's alleged use of an anti-Biden slogan over the intercom.
In a statement, the company said they are doing an internal probe into the event and will address the situation directly with the employee involved, Reuters reported.
Southwest Airlines noted that they do not condone employees sharing their personal political opinions while on the job.
New York Post also reported that a Southwest representative said the team "takes pride in providing a welcoming, comfortable and respectful environment" for the customers who fly with the airline each year.
The representative added that behavior from any individual that is "divisive or offensive" would not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, some customers call for a boycott of the airline, which has already been suffering from many flight cancellations.
Anti-Biden Chant
The "Let's Go, Brandon" chant started on October 2 and has become a popular statement among U.S. conservatives. The phrase was seen on T-shirts as well as a banner pulled by a plane at Donald Trump's rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
BBC News reported that it was also earlier chanted at college football games in Texas and Mississippi and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on a conservative podcast that it's "one of the funniest things" he has ever seen.
Amarnath Amarasingam, an associate professor of political studies at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, said that memes, like political slogans, reinforce community and neatly outline the in-group and out-group boundaries.
The White House claimed that the administration has never heard of the viral anti-Biden chants. The first chant against the president with an expletive started spreading since the start of college football season and then reached the NASCAR race in October, Law Enforcement Today reported.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said he has never heard of the anti-Biden chant until it was explained to him. Bates added that he must not be spending enough time on "8chan or whatever."
READ MORE: 'F--k Joe Biden': NASCAR Fans Join Chanting Expletives Against Pres. Joe Biden
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
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