An “exclusive” story from The Daily Wire claims to show Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D – CA) flying on United Airlines without her mask on. In this case, however, I recommend withholding judgment until we have more information.
Maxine Waters Accused Of Flying Without Mask On United Airlines
Several readers shared this story with me, so I want to address it. In dramatic narrative, The Daily Wire describes how the polarizing Democratic congresswoman removed her mask during a transcontinental United Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles and was ignored by flight attendants.
“Maxine had her mask off for at least an hour while she read her paper and took a nap. Attendants brought her fresh coffee while she was napping and didn’t say a thing as three of them walked past and saw Maxine reading and then sleeping while she remained maskless.”
When a flight attendant told a passenger across the aisle to put on a mask, he protested, pointing to Waters. It was only when that occurred that Congresswoman Waters was awakened from her sleep and told to put her mask on too.
This all according to a “passenger” onboard, who purportedly snapped the picture above.
As damning as the picture looks, consider:
- We don’t know the date this flight occurred
- We cannot see any other passenger wearing a mask, so it isn’t clear if this picture was taken recently or pre-pandemic
- I tried to make out the headline and google it, but it’s too grainy. I think one word is “pushback” and one word is “GOP.” Is there reader good at enhancing photos who might be able to sharpen that?
- Notice how the angle of the shot makes it impossible to see if Water’s seatmate is wearing a mask or not, which would be a good indicator if the photo was recent or not
Waters has been a mask zealot since the start of the pandemic:
Take a chance. Remind an unmasked person to put on a mask & if they become angry, smile and say “6ft away” & keep going.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) April 15, 2020
Trump is a dangerous example for children and those who tend to follow him. Not wearing a mask and not social distancing is dangerous. Do not follow his example. Protect yourself. Coronavirus kills! Maybe this ignoramus doesn’t care, but you should care about yourself!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) May 25, 2020
Trump still refuses to wear a mask. Trump’s FAILED leadership & his unfortunate followers not wearing masks & not social distancing is responsible for the growing infections, death, & surge in #coronavirus cases.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) June 30, 2020
It would be the height of hypocrisy for her to flout the very rule she has been so forceful a proponent of.
CONCLUSION
The highly-partisan narrative of The Daily Wire story does not pass my smell test. While Waters absolutely should be severely condemned if she did fly recently and not wear her face mask, I’m certainly not prepared to assert this happened based upon a single undated photo and anonymous account from another passenger.
Of course she was not wearing her mask as she is supposed to. She’s a clown politician. Most have no inclination to follow rules that are meant for the public. They feel the rules are not actually designed for them.
Masks on airplanes are ridiculous so in that sense she seems to think so too.
Hypocrisy and Democrat go hand in hand. There’s a plethora of instances where this rings true. Having said that the Republicans aren’t that much better.
This incompetent is a perfect example of,well, incompetence and downright corruption in the Swamp that is the District of Columbia….
“I recommend withholding judgment until we have more information.”
of course lets do that for blue but immediately destroy red
clown portal
Not at all. I defended Ted Cruz for leaving Texas during the big storm there (until we had more info).
Yawn. What would it change? If she is a hypocrite do we then assume some giant mea culpa and an endorsement for an end to the mask mandates?
Masks are symbolic of larger culture wars now. Even if Covid magically disappears or Omicron proves out to be as mild as the data shows so far, many will want forever-masks as punishment for those who dislike them. And to be fair, some truly like wearing them.
I wear them when required. And vote with my wallet for places that don’t.
Just hoping Trump doesn’t run in 2024. If seriously put to a choice between Trump and forever-masks… ugh. Just threw up a bit in my mouth. Please let’s not make that a choice.
Sincerely,
Every sane human left. All 73 of us.
In the picture it looks like she’s wearing a mask, or is that just a skin fold?
Newsflash at 11… politician gets caught in a “do as I say, not as i do” scandal. Partisan tribes out for blood scream hypocrite, end-of-the-world, the other side is evil nonsense. Partisan tribal news sources profit with clicks and ads. Meanwhile, Americans grow farther and farther apart as we become convinced that those that aren’t apart of our tribe are evil.
If you see me or anybody from my office not wearing a mask in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, in an airplane, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.
Guess the comment system doesn’t like most iPhone emojis
Now you’ve started a game. I agree that nothing conclusive can be made from one picture, but let’s look at the photo in isolation anyway.
– No signs of a mask at all. On flights these days, even someone who wants to flaunt the mask time will generally have a mask nearby eg on their chin or the seat tray
– Inflight magazines appear to be in the seat back. Didn’t most airlines get rid of magazines during the pandemic?
That’s the extent of my generalization based on the photo.
I have been flying almost every week and in flight magazines are always there. Both Delta and United at least have their latest magazines on every back seat.
“No signs of mask at all” You mean she doesn’t have one on her? So what? I see people fully removing their masks to eat on planes. It is mask, not a napkin.
Delta certainly doesn’t. They’re gone
I have been on 2 United flights in the last couple of months and did not see any magazines. Maybe they removed them from my flight only
Magazines are still present on United – I’ve traveled a lot the last two months on United and they have been in the seatback every single flight.
re: masks. post from social media:
“”I see a whole lot of this: ‘People who don’t wear masks are selfish and putting everyone else in danger.’
Just no. Stop.
Do you know what’s selfish? Passing off responsibility for YOUR health to everyone else around you. It doesn’t work that way. ♀️
YOUR health is YOUR responsibility. MY health is MINE.
Trust me, you don’t want ME in charge of your health because I’ll swoop in and toss out all your junk food, processed crap, alcohol, & cigs, fill your fridge with fruits and veggies, force you to drink water, take quality supplements, exercise daily, and get plenty of sleep.
Oh, what’s that? You don’t want to be told what to eat, drink, take, do, etc? Well, Karen, if the way you’re living promotes poor health and a depleted immune system that isn’t functioning at its best, then you don’t get to make a single health decision for me. ♀️
Furthermore, if YOUR mask works, which you obviously believe it does since you want to force everyone to wear one, you have nothing to worry about if I choose not to.
My freedoms don’t end where your fear begins. We are all adults that make our own decisions regarding the level of risk we are willing to take in everyday life. As of now, we’re a free country, although that seems to be changing.
If YOU want to wear a mask, bleach everything around you, wear gloves, and never touch anyone or anything… that’s up to you. I do not and cannot accept that life.
Sincerely,
A woman who has never changed her daily routine, worn a mask or gloves, or sanitized the heck out of everything since all this started. And I’m still here and haven’t been sick. Thank God for properly functioning immune systems (which are NO accident, btw)”
@Acura
>Thank God for properly functioning immune systems (which are NO accident, btw)
Some people are born without appropriately functioning immune systems. Others are immunocompromised due to medical treatments for cancer, heart disease, etc. Even pregnant women are at a higher risk for severe COVID. Everybody becomes immunocompromised at some level at points during their lives.
Do you think you’re fucking immortal?
First, I didn’t write this post, but I agree with it.
Second, I have a digestive autoimmune disease myself. Still, I take responsibility for my OWN body and my OWN health. it’s the deck of cards that I was dealt and I take steps to improve my health holistically as much as possible and use western medicine as little as possible.
For those who are as sick as you mentioned, as sad as that is, they should NOT be flying and should STAY home.
Quarantine USED to be about sheltering the sick, not the f’in healthy.
End all restrictions. Period.
Matt I am interested on her flying Econ here on a 5hr plus flight – do members of congress always pay for their own trips home on many weekends during the year or is this covered as an expense and reimbursed by the government ?
Members of Congress are generally allocated a travel budget each year and can book accordingly. The Congressman I worked for always flew United and upgraded, when possible. It doesn’t surprise me to see her fly in economy – if she bought the ticket last minute first may have been full, even if she wanted to pay the difference.
or in the case of Pelosi, they are allocated millions
“We reported in 2010 that Pelosi’s jet travel cost the Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol,” Mr. Fitton said, noting that the average cost on an international congressional delegation trip was $228,563.33.
Of the 103 trips that Mrs. Pelosi led, 31 of them included members of the House speaker’s family, said Mr. Fitton, citing one trip to the Middle East for lawmakers and their spouses in 2008 that cost $17,931 per hour for the aircraft alone.
His investigation revealed other expenses.
“Purchases include Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, EJ brandy, Baileys Irish Cream, Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar’s scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, Corona beer and several bottles of wine,” Mr. Fitton noted.
https://apnews.com/article/ca7d87293c85364cecbb032cfa0851c6
AKA the fleecing of America
Interesting info on the budget allocation thanks Matt!
#metoo I was surprised by the coach seat also. But at 5’6″ish and an empty seat beside her she is probably like my wife and perfers that configuration to the +$$s of lie flat international business (she doesn’t sleep easily on planes) much more so for the modicum of extra space afforded by domestic first,
I’m pretty sure she was preferentially treated.
I would though expect more photos if she were continously not wearing her mask. If I were the photographer I would have visited the bathroom many times over the course of the flight to document this allegeded non compliance and not just after she had recieved her coffee. If I were Maxine I would have kept my mask dangling when I was drinking my coffee. It is just dumb not to.
perhaps she flew coach because you know, #blm.
she has to give the impression to her (insane) fans and constituents that she isn’t privileged as a black woman
Did you work at the White House or the Congress? Seems you said White House in Dole’s article.
She’s a member of the government. We all know the rules don’t apply to her, and we’d be silly to think they ever will. Next story…
regarding this photo of Maxine and your statement “We don’t know the date this flight occurred” :
yes, it is possible that this is not a current photo.
It was a while ago now, but I remember there being noise on the right on social media about Maxine not wearing a mask on a plane.
I just did a google search pre-December 2021 and all I can find is this one article which doesn’t seem related to aviation at a two second glance, aside from the mention of Feinstein.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/10/07/finger-wagging-maxine-waters-confronted-for-not-wearing-a-mask-981537/
However, I am certain that the noise was since the mask rule began, so if this photo is not current, she was still at fault then, too.
I can’t seem to find anything else searching, but I am 99% sure she has been flouting the mask rule on planes for a while now, if this photo really is current.
Either way, it’s another example of rules for thee and not for me, which we have about nine billion examples of from the left, especially, since this ridiculous COVID tyranny began.
I seem to be among the minority of commenters here, in that I gave money to Biden’s campaign in 2020.
That said, even I would admit that Maxine Waters is an atrocious politician (among the very worst of both parties), and it would not surprise me in the slightest if she declined to wear a mask on board a plane.
Thanks for your support Greg. It’s good to know I earned some real votes in the election.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXl5G4lufHy/
Yes she’s a retched, hypocritical hag. What does that say about the people that keep putting her back in office. Really, they have no one better?
This article wasn’t about Marjorie Taylor Greene…or Laren Bobert.
both of whom who are way smarter than Maxine the latrine
She is an idiot
“Did Maxine Waters Flout Mask Rules on United Airlines?”
This question can easily be answered by a second question: were any mirrors broken on the flight? If so, you can be sure her face was exposed…
If true,I feel sorry for those who have been marched off planes for far less. Think back to stories of toddlers not wanting to wear a mask and the overreaction.
Exactly. This was the same day the man was kicked off United, same Mad Maxine flight day, for wearing a gstring on his face.
Have you guys missed the massive Cup of Tea/Coffee on her tray table??
Didn’t miss it at all. Is there Tea or Coffee inside? The eyewitness said that she didn’t have her mask on when she should have and for hours.
Propaganda media telling us to “hold judgment”? Yes Mad Maxine believes she’s above rules. This article is literally hilariously biased.. And bawling about biased media? When did media tell us to hold judgment on Ted Cruz being Maskless? Stop listening to divisive media that excuse hypocrisy of Elites.
You know that a witness claimed that she didn’t wear the mask for over an hour. So that’s not pre pandemic. Absolutely no need to defend like that. What a hack. Not surprised.
Yeah, I agree that the story needs much better verification. Flight number, date of flight, time of photo, etc, … if the story is true it should be easy to include that info. If someone can figure out what the newspaper is in her hands, and match it up… that would very helpful.
No apologies are needed in calling out Maxine Waters, an elitist, race-baiting political hack since Day 1. So no surprise that the rules that would apply to you, me, Trump or whomever would not apply to her.