Biden Says Airlines Making Customers Pay for Extra Legroom Is Racist

President Biden has announced a new crackdown on what he describes as “garbage tolls” to ease inflation pressures, including unexpected legroom fees, which he says affect “low-income people and people of color” the most.

“Some airlines, if you want more than six inches between you and the seat in front, you pay more money, but you don’t know that until you buy the ticket,” Biden said Wednesday.

“Look folks, these garbage charges are unfair, and hidden, marginalized Americans have it the hardest, especially low-income people and people of color.”

Some scratched the back of their heads at the sight of Biden making legroom fees a racial issue. “These people literally have one opinion. One,” Newsweek editor Josh Hammer wrote on Twitter.

Biden suggested that the actions being taken could save Americans Thanksgiving Day travel.

“Lots of money,” he insisted. “It’s billions of dollars. It’s not billions for an individual, but it adds up to $200, $300, $400 for average families.”

Late last month, the Department of Transportation issued a new rule that requires airlines and third-party ticket agents to disclose additional fees, such as for checked baggage or flight changes, when the cost of airline tickets is initially displayed online, rather than correctly, as a buyer to complete the transaction.

This comes after the department tightened rules on when airlines must compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights. The department is still working to force airlines to issue refunds for services like in-flight Wi-Fi that don’t work.

“Look folks, these garbage charges are unfair, and hidden marginalized Americans are hardest hit, especially low-income people and people of color,” Biden said.

Biden credited his administration with encouraging more airlines to eliminate rebooking fees over the summer and said 15 of the 20 largest banks have now eliminated check bounce fees.

A little less than two weeks before by-electionsBiden also announced what should be a crowd pleaser: The federal government is cracking down on overdraft fees, excessive credit card late fees, hidden hotel booking fees and connection fees charged by cable and internet companies to prevent customers from switching services.

Rather than launch a campaign, Biden is pushing messages from the White House that those concerns are being heard.

Throughout his speech, he cited examples of unfair treatment of Americans by banks and large corporations.

“It’s wrong, it’s ridiculous, it’s not fair,” he said at one point, using the example of a parent selling a used kid’s bike for $30 and then charging a $15 bank fee when the buyer’s check bounces.

In another case, Biden went for an overdraft fee.

“You all know this because you know this from your everyday life,” he said, before recounting a scenario where a consumer writes a check to pay a bill, but gets charged an overdraft fee because the person’s account didn’t have a balance. t was updated.

“It’s not your fault,” Biden said. “The bank screwed up. You didn’t. The bank did.”

Meanwhile, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued new guidance on Wednesday saying that depositor fees and unexpected overdraft fees are “likely unfair and illegal under existing law.”

The economy and inflation are top of mind for voters heading to the polls in less than two weeks, and most polls show they trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle such issues.