November 15, 2026
After the nation’s air traffic control system came to a grinding halt this week, leaving millions of people stranded at airports with cancelled flights and expensive hotel stays, the White House finally responded. However, far from offering any stability, the response was a masterclass in the late stages of Trumpism.
Speaking in an interview, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin began his briefing with a joke about “Friday the 13th”. The comment was bizarre, to say the least, to people whose children were crying and elderly family members were in wheelchairs. However, he quickly moved on to the administrations favourite talking point: How brilliant the president is. “This is what the leadership of President Trump looks like,” Mullin claimed that the chaos showed how well the team can handle crises.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stood next to him and tried to justify the situation. He said it was due to a “1980s jalopy” system and demanded $50 billion from Congress immediately. This seems like a lot to ask for from an administration who are part of a party who just had control of the country. While he spoke about Trump being a “builder” and expressing his frustration with the bureaucracy, his actions on the ground were more about him shouting “All is well!” in a manner reminiscent of Animal House.
However, the most obvious thing about the whole situation was:
President Trump, who made his political career out of being the best communicator, was completely missing. With people scrambling to get their flights sorted, Trump was still stuck inside the White House. There was no live speech to the nation, no news report and no empathy towards the citizens who were affected.
Instead of the President, the public were left with mouthpieces. Instead of transparency, there was wind-up. While Mullin and Duffy discussed Trump’s greatness in the briefing room, with Stephen Miller observing, Trump remained in a secluded room.
Eventually the travel issues will be resolved but the Great Grounding has shown how out of touch the White House is with politics. They would rather stay in their bubble and not try and reassure a frustrated nation. The Builder fell silent.