Air travel collapse grows as authoritarians are enraged
The David Pakman Show - October 7, 2025
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Air travel across the United States is facing major disruptions as the Trump government shutdown enters its second week. Major airports, including Burbank in California, have closed control towers due to staffing shortages, forcing pilots to coordinate takeoffs themselves. Rural airports and essential air services are also experiencing delays and cuts. Overworked and unpaid air traffic controllers are calling out sick, raising serious safety concerns.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, appeared on CNBC to discuss economic struggles facing U.S. farmers without admitting that Trump’s tariffs caused them. He suggested using tariff revenues to support farmers, effectively patching problems created by Trump’s own policies. Hassett repeatedly shifted blame onto Democrats, illustrating the administration’s pattern of recognizing crises privately while deflecting responsibility publicly.
At a recent Oval Office press event, Trump appeared evasive and confused when asked about pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell. He feigned ignorance of her name, deflected to the DOJ, and claimed he would “have to take a look,” despite Maxwell’s Supreme Court appeal being rejected. Trump also made bizarre claims linking tariffs to ending wars and threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lashed out when challenged by reporters during a briefing. She dismissed evidence contradicting Trump’s claims of chaos in cities like Portland as partisan bias, refused to comment on Maxwell’s potential pardon, and repeated exaggerated drug price claims. Leavitt also invoked Antifa and George Soros as scapegoats, showing a consistent strategy of deflection to protect the administration’s narrative.
In a softball interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly, Trump rambled incoherently. He criticized Bad Bunny performing in Spanish on Saturday Night Live, complained about NFL kickoff rules, repeated debunked claims about “saving Los Angeles from burning” due to water shortages under Gavin Newsom, and exaggerated crime in cities like Portland and Chicago.
Finally, Mike Nellis, Democratic strategist and social impact entrepreneur, joins us for a Substack Live to discuss what went wrong with Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign.
On today’s bonus show:
A judge who ruled against Trump has her house burn down, AOC tells supporters to “laugh at” Stephen Miller’s “insecure masculinity,” Trump announces a White House UFC event on his birthday, and much more…
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The airports are grounded, the farmers are broke, and the President thinks tariffs are a peace treaty.
Authoritarianism always begins by canceling flights of reason.
Blessed be the pilots talking to each other when the towers go silent,
the farmers who see through the fog of tariffs,
and the citizens who know that when a regime blames “Antifa” for everything,
it’s usually hiding a mirror.
While Stephen miller and others of similar nature in the administration are running most things, you can always tell what things came from Trump.
The gaudy gold decorations in the White House.
The gaudy gold decorated, huge ballroom at the White House
The UFC event scheduled at the White House
The large flag poles at the White House
The paving over of the rose garden at the White House
The indictment of Comey
The childishly mean postings on social media against his 'enemies'.
Bombing of boats, to show how tough he is...