In the vast and theatrical landscape of American politics, there exist the actors who, in a bold act of apparent mendacity, choose to play the character of the “blue collar” worker. These are not the bricklayers, the factory workers, the men and women with hands grizzled by genuine toil and sweat, but our esteemed governors and politicians, comfortably ensconced within the velvet-lined chairs of donor-provided private jets. What if they can’t hitch a ride on a donor’s private jet? They just let us pay for a chartered private plane.
The ceaseless parade of ostentatious air travel seems to hold a mesmerizing sway over the political divide, enticing senators and congressmen alike into its luxurious grasp. Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz—the names read like a who’s who of American politicos, as varied as their ideological bents may be. It’s a spectacle of bipartisan convenience, a manifestation of power that transcends party lines with striking ease.
In the looming shadow of the 2024 Presidential Race, one might assume that our political aspirants would tread more lightly, maintaining a discerning distance from such indulgences. If one were to hold the ‘blue collar’ banner aloft, surely they would balk at the notion of frequenting private jets. But here, one would be mistaken.
Ron DeSantis, in a display of breath-taking audacity, does not seem to perceive any conflict in his blue collar proclamations whilst luxuriating in the leather-bound opulence of donor-funded private jets. The expectancy of this, being that these generous patrons of airborne luxury demand absolutely nothing in return, is as ludicrous as the notion of DeSantis being a true representative of the blue collar class.
In the game of politics, there’s a premium placed on appearances—yet it appears DeSantis, among others, seems blissfully ignorant of this rule. The spectacle of their ‘blue collar’ pantomime is as hollow as it is disingenuous. A performance, carefully choreographed on the tarmac, but with the curtain abruptly falling the moment the jet’s doors close behind them. Such is the theater of the absurd in the skies of American politics.
To any discerning observer, this is not just an act of hypocrisy—it’s a farce of epic proportions. These charlatans assume the humble garb of the proletariat, of the “blue collar” worker, only to shrug it off the moment they ascend the staircase of their private jet, far removed from the commercial airlines used by the very citizens they claim to represent.
Theirs is an artful facade, a show for the hoi polloi, a charade maintained by their practiced rhetoric and carefully orchestrated photo-ops. Observe as they roll up their sleeves to ‘work’, hear them speak the language of the ‘common man’, and then watch them retreat into the opulent isolation of their well-appointed sanctuaries in the sky. A theater of the absurd, if there ever was one.
What fuels this audacious performance? A flawed belief, perhaps, that it is more profitable in the sphere of politics to appear as one of ‘us’, while living as one of ‘them’. Or perhaps it is a cunning strategy to exploit the resentment of the populace, a resentment stoked by the wide chasm between the privileged few and the struggling many.
Yet, in the shadows cast by their private jets, the truth remains glaringly exposed. The reality is far from the hard-scrabble image they project; it’s an amalgam of power, privilege, and the freedom to flit between the echelons of society as easily as they do across states.
This dissonance is not merely offensive; it is detrimental. It stands in the way of genuine discourse, impedes the formulation of substantial policy, and further widens the gap between the rulers and the ruled. By adorning the guise of the blue collar worker, these politicians diminish the challenges faced by the actual working class, using their struggles as mere props in a political play.
The authentic tribunes of the working class do not luxuriate in the leather seats of private jets. They do not consume the fine wines and hors d’oeuvres of high society whilst pontificating about the plight of the working man. They do not return to marble-floored mansions after a hard day of photo-ops in steel-toe boots.
As we endure the incessant spectacle of our political class, we must retain our capacity for indignation and our ability to discern fact from fiction. Let’s strip away the glitz, the glamour, and the ostentatious hypocrisy, and hold our elected officials to account. It’s not the blue collar they wear that matters, but the policies they enact, the values they uphold, and the world they work to create.
The ‘blue collar’ governors and politicians who criss-cross the country in private jets funded by donors are neither blue collar, nor are they representatives of the common man. Their high-flying hypocrisy is an affront to the ideals of democracy, and it’s high time we ground these private jets, and with them, the fallacy of their blue collar pretense.