Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Trump backer rants on flight to Allentown, video goes viral

ALLENTOWN — Several minutes into a flight Tuesday bound for Allentown, Emma Baum said she was shocked when a man sitting near her began yelling at the passengers about President-elect Donald Trump, calling them "Hillary b----es."

Baum's 45-second video posted to Facebook under the title "Didn't take long to notice that I'm back in 'Merica ..." had been shared more than 3 million times as of Friday night. Baum has now found herself thrust into the spotlight of political discourse with dozens of calls from national media.

Watch (warning: offensive language:)

The Delta flight was traveling from Atlanta to Allentown. Delta officials could not be reached for comment Friday, but addressed the incident on its Twitter page, stating, "We're sorry this disruption happened. Our crews work hard to ensure flying is comfortable for all of our customers."

Officials at the Lehigh Valley International Airport declined to comment in a statement emailed from airport spokesman Colin Riccobon.

Speaking by phone, Baum, 21, who lives in Belize in Central America, said she was on her way to her hometown in Quakertown to visit family.

She said she first noticed the man while waiting for the flight to board. The man chanted Trump's slogan several times in the airport terminal, shouting that the president-elect would "make American great again."

As they boarded the plane, Baum said she was seated next to the man and he again said several things about his support of Trump. Baum said that before the flight took off, she switched seats with someone behind her so that he could sit next to his traveling companion.

Before the flight took off, Baum said she told the man she had been out of the country and asked him about the presidential election. As he jumped out of his seat to talk to her, she told him she was going to record him with her cellphone.

"He said, 'Go ahead! I want to tell everyone about Trump. I hope it goes viral,'" Baum said.

In the video, the man claps his hands, shouting to the passengers, "How many people, man?" He loudly claps his hands to a mostly silent audience and says, "Really? Ain't nobody going to say sh-- on this plane?"

One woman off camera says, "We can't hear you," and the man points and claps.

"Donald Trump, baby!" he hoots. "We got some Hillary b----es on this plane?

"Trump! It's your president," the man yells. "Every god---- one of you. If you don't like it, too bad."

In the video, Baum then scans the rows of silent passengers, including some who craned their necks to watch.

Baum said she was concerned about the man's behavior, and after several minutes, a flight attendant approached the man and took him off the plane. But the man later returned, she said.

"When he came back in, he said, 'This is what I get for being a patriot,'" Baum said.

There were no further outbursts from him during the flight.

After the flight landed, Baum said she reported the man's behavior to airport security and police, who both asked for copies of her video to identify the man.

She said her family had told her about the "craziness" of the election. But Baum, who is licensing the video, said she had no idea it would receive so much attention.

"I did have some people messaging me asking if I was anti-white, and that was disappointing," Baum said. "I just put it up and didn't expect any of this."