Pete Buttigieg Expertly Rips Sean Duffy After Duffy Tries To Blame Him For Spirit Airlines Shutdown

Budget air carrier Spirit Airlines shut down abruptly on Saturday, May 2, canceling all flights after failing to secure a $500 million bailout as part of its second bankruptcy in less than a year, resulting in 17,000 employees losing their jobs and a major disruption to travel.

The carrier blamed the shutdown and bankruptcies on soaring jet fuel costs due to the Trump administration's failure to secure favorable trade deals, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Iran War, and competition for a decreasing number of travelers.

Despite Spirit Airlines CEO Dave Davis specifically blaming rising prices of jet fuel directly caused by Trump’s war with Iran, MTV's The Real World: Boston and Road Rules self-described party boy-turned Congressman-turned Fox News host-turned Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy returned to his old stomping grounds to pass the buck on the blame.

Appearing on Fox News, Duffy told Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade on Monday:

"To be really clear, yeah, jet fuel prices have gone up. This story was not written because of the Iran war."

"This story was written because of what [Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Elizabeth Warren, [Democratic President] Joe Biden, [former Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg, and the DOJ, under Biden, what they did to prevent the merger from happening…."

Duffy was purportedly referring to a proposed 2022 merger with JetBlue, which the Department of Justice—not Buttigieg—opposed and a judge appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan blocked.

Duffy continued:

"They’re blaming fuel prices, but you and I both know that Democrats love higher energy prices!"

You can see his remarks here:

This came after Duffy said in a news conference on Saturday after the Spirit Airlines shutdown:

"There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, along with the Biden DOJ, decided that they did not want that merger to take place. And at the time, the Biden and Buttigieg DOJ bragged and said as they canceled the option for this merger, that this was a victory for US travelers who deserve lower prices and better choices."

"And this today would indicate this is not better for travelers, this is not better for pricing, this is not better for competition, actually it’s worse. We had an airline go down because the markets were trying to allow two airlines to merge, make them stronger, and offer more competition for the American consumer."

You can see Duffy's comments here:

Not willing to suffer fools gladly, Buttigieg clapped back, resharing a clip of Duffy's Fox & Friends interview captioned:

"You can't lower gas prices by blurting out the names of a few Democrats. The administration needs to stop its crazed policies that cause so much economic pain."

"This is happening on Trump's watch because he doubled jet fuel prices by taking our country to war, which drove Spirit out of business. Obviously."

Buttigieg wasn't alone in pushing back on Duffy's misinformation and blame game.

Senator Warren shared:

"Spiking fuel prices from Trump’s war was the nail in the coffin for twice-bankrupted Spirit airline."

"[For what it's worth], JetBlue merger failed because a judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan, said the deal was illegal."

"Republicans are desperate to shift blame from higher costs hitting families."

Duffy got roasted on X by even the people he didn't try to blame.

@KarrieLee10/X

@PacoBol4/X

@GingerBriq/X

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While Duffy tried to blame President Biden and Buttigieg, his boss blamed Democratic President Barack Obama.

Back in April when Spirit was still looking for a bailout, Trump said:

“So, Spirit is an airline that’s had some trouble. They were going to merge with People Express, or one of them, a number of years ago, and Barack Hussein Obama decided it was a bad idea. How did that work out?”

You can see Trump's April 23 remarks here:

There are a few issues with Trump's version of reality.

People Express went out of business in 1987.

In 1987, Barack Obama was a 26-year-old working as a community organizer in Chicago before leaving to attend Harvard Law School.

And Michigan-based Charter One Airlines rebranded as Spirit Airlines and began operating scheduled service in May of 1992.

For the mathematically challenged, that's five years after People Express ceased operations.

But Trump has passed all of his cognitive tests.