Does a video show Delta Airlines removing an elderly man from a flight because he was wearing a MAGA hat? No, that's not true: The man was wearing a red hat that read "Build Back Better My Ass," not "Make America Great Again." The pilot, who said he himself was "ultra MAGA", told him he was escorted off the plane for safety reasons since he refused a flight attendant order to take off the hat that included a profane word.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by the @Rightanglenews account on X on October 9, 2025. It included a seven-minute video that was introduced with a caption that read:
BREAKING - Delta Airlines is facing massive backlash as customers boycott and demand refunds after the airline refused to take action against a pilot and DEI flight attendant who removed an elderly man from a flight for wearing a MAGA hat. https://t.co/SSqOsjmqha
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Right Angle News Network on Twitter
BREAKING - Delta Airlines is facing massive backlash as customers boycott and demand refunds after the airline refused to take action against a pilot and DEI flight attendant who removed an elderly man from a flight for wearing a MAGA hat. https://t.co/SSqOsjmqha
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of X.com)
The claim that the passenger was removed because of a "MAGA hat" is disproven by this screenshot, taken 26 second into the video, that shows the red hat does not read "Make American Great Again," which is what is referred to as a MAGA hat. This hat read:
Build Back Better
My Ass
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of X.com)
"Build Back Better" was the name the Biden Administration used for its plans (archived here) to "rebuild the backbone of the country - the middle class."
The video opened with a silver-haired man looking into his phone and speaking:
So, right now, I've been asked to step off the plane because of my hat. You believe that? So now, I'm waiting for the captain to have a word with me. And I'm flying Delta. And I went on there and sat down, and I haven't said a word to anybody. I haven't done anything,
At that point, the Delta captain walked up and began explaining the reason for his removal:
Not because of your hat, it's because you're not complying with the instruction.
It's a safety issue, he added:
I'm giving you the option, okay. Either you keep the hat off and you follow the instructions of the flight attendants, because in the case of an emergency. How do I know, based on this simple little issue, that you would follow their instructions in an emergency?
The flight attendant said the passenger removed his hat when first asked, but put it back on later. The man said he put it back on at the request of other passengers who wanted to take a photo of him with it on.
The captain assured the man that his decision to remove him was not political, saying:
I'm probably more ultra MAGA than you are.
It is unclear if the man accepted the captain's offer to allow him back on the plane if he would comply with the order not to wear the hat.
