When you can't defend the indefensible, do what Republicans always do -- blame Biden.
As we discussed here, Trump wanted to rescue Spirit Airlines -- with our money -- but that deal fell through this weekend with Spirit announcing that it canceled all flights and is going out of business:
Spirit Airlines, the pioneering discount airline that shook up the budget travel business, is shutting down its operations.
The company is in its second bankruptcy and was in serious financial trouble well before the Iran war sent jet fuel prices surging. America’s eighth-largest carrier tried to reach a deal with the Trump administration on an 11th-hour rescue package, but a key group of creditors balked at the proposal. [...]
High jet fuel costs have pinched all US airlines, sending their costs surging. Jet fuel is the second biggest cost for airlines, behind only labor. American Airlines said that every penny that jet fuel prices rise costs the airline $50 million over the course of a year. United said last month that if jet fuel prices continue at their current level, the airline could incur $11 billion in additional expenses — double its highest-ever annual profit.
Larger airlines have cushioned the blow somewhat by hiking some fees and fares and cutting flights. But smaller airlines, including Spirit, ran into trouble: Discount carriers like Spirit have a harder time raising fares because they rely on ultra-low fares to attract business.
The fact that Trump's war in Iran is what caused those fuel prices to skyrocket didn't stop his lying Transportation Secretary from trying to blame the liquidation on the Biden administration:
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the shutdown of Spirit Airlines on former President Joe Biden and his administration.
"There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit, and Joe Biden and [former Transportation Secretary] 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," Duffy said during a news conference on Saturday.
"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," he added.
In a statement, Duffy said Democrats in Congress who opposed the merger claimed it would "have led to fewer flights and higher fares." At the time, Sen. Elizabeth Warren described it as "a Biden win for flyers!"
Duffy falsely claimed that the airline shutting down had nothing to do with the Iran war, which the airline itself contradicted:
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rebuffed the suggestion that Spirit Airlines was forced to shut down as a result of rising fuel prices brought on by the Iran war.
“Spirit was in dire straits long before the war with Iran,” Duffy said during a press conference in New Jersey on Saturday.
“Multiple times, they filed for bankruptcy. Their model wasn’t working,” the Trump administration official said. “They couldn’t get to fiscal health, so this was not the impetus. The war was not the impetus for Spirit.” [...]
Spirit Airlines CEO Dave Davis told The Wall Street Journal that the airline’s recovery plan would have succeeded if not for the Iran war and surging energy prices. He noted the financial strain is impacting other airlines as well.
“Everybody burning cash—we just had a smaller pile to start with,” he told the outlet. “They’re not that far behind us in the race.”
Liz Warren also hit back at Duffy on Xitter:
Spiking fuel prices from Trump’s war was the nail in the coffin for twice-bankrupted Spirit airline.
FWIW, 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.— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 2, 2026
