Secrets of Trump’s $500 Million Spirit Scam Finally Exposed!!

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4:35Ben Meiselas:So I teach antitrust law at one of the top law schools in the country. So I want to share with you my experience and explain why the Trump regime's attempt to blame the Biden administration for the spirit airline bankruptcy that just took place is completely bogus. And you know, I mean, it should be obvious, right? But the Trump regime is blaming the Biden administration for the Spirit Airlines bankruptcy because the Trump regime blames Biden for everything. But one of the things that they're pushing this right-wing talking point that you see on state regime media, which calls itself Fox and all these MAGA influencers, they say that the Biden administration filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines in 2022.

5:27Ben Meiselas:And if the merger would have went through, then this bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines would not have taken place in 2026 under the Trump regime. What I believe would have happened if that merger went through, it would have resulted in both JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, this merged entity going bankrupt right now under the Trump regime. And I believe that JetBlue is potentially in some very grave financial danger as well. I'm just sharing with you my opinion, and there's a real risk of bankruptcy there. So a merged entity of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines could have resulted in the combined entity going bankrupt now that the price of jet fuel has skyrocketed so much as a result of Donald Trump's catastrophic war in Iran.

6:22Ben Meiselas:I think at the most basic level, Let me just read for you what Caroline Sunshine wrote. And she's a Fox pundit. She's a big Trumper. But I think she's been very disenchanted by this unlawful and catastrophic war in Iran. And here's what she posted. This is a big Trump supporter. I think she's moved away from that a little bit. She goes, Spirit Airlines only needed$500 million to survive. We've already spent$25 billion on the Iran war. Which one directly improves American lives more? A low-cost carrier staying in the market or another war in the Middle East? Now, the bankruptcy of Spirit Airlines under the Trump regime now will cost at least 7 ,500 people their jobs.

7:13Ben Meiselas:Spirit Airlines employed about 17 ,000 people, but they reduced it to 7 ,500. And what I fear is that this is a sign of other low-cost carriers that may be going bankrupt soon. I'm just sharing with you my opinion. I'm not trying to cause alarm or panic here. It just seems that whether you're talking about Frontier or even JetBlue or other low-cost carriers, oftentimes when you see something like this where you have one of the weakest links go bankrupt first, in this case, Spirit Airlines, it's a sign of what's to come. Hold that thought for a second, because we'll get back to that in a moment.

7:55Ben Meiselas:Let's start now with the antitrust lawsuit that was filed by the Biden administration against this potential merger in 2022 with Spirit Airlines and JetBlue, where Spirit Airlines would have folded into JetBlue. So the Justice Department in enforcing antitrust law. They don't just get to decree. We think that this merger will harm competition. There's something called the rule of reason that's applied in antitrust law, where you look at the pro-competitive impacts of a merger, you look at the anti-competitive impacts of the merger, and you kind of weigh them and you see, are there any other ways to do this that would promote competition?

8:40Ben Meiselas:Is there anything else that could be done that short of a merger like this? And it's a balancing test that courts apply. But when you bring an antitrust case, the Justice Department doesn't just say, ha ha, we block it on our own. They go to a federal court and a federal judge has to hear the arguments and the judge makes the decision. So in this specific case, a federal judge named William G. Young, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, heard the Department of Justice case where the DOJ said this merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines was a violation of antitrust law. There was a 17-day bench trial in late 2023 in Massachusetts.

9:30Ben Meiselas:Then on January 16, 2024, this Ronald Reagan Republican-appointed judge issued a detailed 113-page ruling blocking the merger and finding the following facts. The airline industry is highly concentrated. A deal between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines would have removed a key structure in reducing prices. It would harm cost-conscious consumers who relied on Spirit's low, often unbundled fares. The pro-competitive benefits did not outweigh the harms. And the judge said Spirit is a small airline, but there are those who love it. To those dedicated customers of Spirit, this one's for you. This came from a Reagan-appointed judge.

10:21Ben Meiselas:Now, the reason that Spirit Airlines went bankrupt in 2026 was not because this merger didn't go through, which a Reagan-appointed judge, a Republican-appointed judge, agreed that this merger shouldn't happen. As I noted, imagine if you merge these two entities, Trump launches the catastrophic war, JetBlue is now saddled with its own problems, plus the problems of Spirit, this new entity would have been bankrupt. It would have been extra catastrophic if it was not blocked. But don't trust me or just what is Spirit Airlines saying about it all? Well, in their bankruptcy message that all flights have been canceled and Spirit Airlines has been, you know, is winding down its operations.

11:10Ben Meiselas:Here's what Spirit Airlines wrote yesterday. Spirit Aviation Holdings, a parent company of Spirit Airlines, today regretfully announced the company has started its orderly wind-down of operations. All Spirit flights have been canceled. The wind-down follows the company's extensive and comprehensive efforts to restructure the business and pursue transactions to strengthen Spirit's financial positions and create a sustainable path forward. Unfortunately, despite the company's efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit's financial outlook.

11:50Ben Meiselas:With no additional funding available to the company, Spirit had no choice but to begin this wind down. They didn't say, well, because we didn't merge with JetBlue in 2024. No, they're talking about the increase in jet fuel prices right now because that's what did it. the prices went up dramatically and in a way that became unsustainable. And without a bailout, they could not continue to exist. So now you have the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, write the following. Thank a Democrat. Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg bragged about blocking the JetBlue Spirit merger, the very deal that could have saved Spirit airlines.

12:34Ben Meiselas:The result, less competition, customers scrambling, employees losing jobs. You can't make this up. It's all a game to these MAGA Republicans. For how long do you think you just blame Joe Biden for everything? Y 'all are in charge right now. Donald Trump is out there claiming he's brought in$21 trillion or$18 trillion from all of these foreign countries and that tariffs are making the country so rich and that there's a manufacturing boom. Donald Trump says we're in a golden age and everything is great and our deficits being reduced. Now, we all know that to be false, but if you're out there saying things are great, we're in this golden age, everything is amazing, then why isn't that trickling down to all of these industries?

13:24Ben Meiselas:Why is it that jet fuel prices are so high, it's because Donald Trump's catastrophic war in Iran. That's the reason and basis for all of this. And so you have Duffy. He not only posts that message, he holds press conferences throughout the day yesterday, blaming Biden. And he goes, I think it's important to talk about why we are here today. Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. It's not what Spirit Airlines is saying. you would have merged them. Both would have probably been bankrupt right away. But here's what Sean Duffy said at this press conference. Here, play this clip. I'll take your questions in a second, but I think it's important to talk about why are we here today?

14:09There was a proposed merger between JetBlue and Spirit. And Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, along with the Biden DOJ, decided that they did not want that merger to take place.

14:23Ben Meiselas:Now, Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Trump regime was not able to execute a bailout and to help Spirit Airlines, despite Donald Trump saying he was working on it. Here's what the Wall Street Journal reported. Our new reporting on what led to the fall of a Trump Spirit Airlines$500 million rescue plan just prior to the airline being forced to close. a lobbying campaign by CEOs and other representatives of major airlines against such a deal. And they battle with creditors. And the CEO of Spirit conceding in a call to Secretary Lutnik, they couldn't pull off the bailout. Now, Donald Trump is accepting or has accepted a, what, half a billion dollar plane from Qatar.

15:13Ben Meiselas:That money alone could have bailed out Spirit. But no, Donald Trump's taking a personal plane from Qatar for himself. You take a look right here about the potential for bankruptcies of these low-cost airlines, if you will. JetBlue and Frontier are facing the highest risk of bankruptcy. Some of the top airline industry analysts think more Chapter 11s are coming by 2026, 2027. They believe currently JetBlue has a greater than 75 % chance of a bankruptcy happening. Frontier, 45 to 50%. Allegiant, 36.7%. Far less. American Airlines, 2.9 to 15 % chance of bankruptcy. Alaska, less than 3 % of bankruptcy.

16:06Ben Meiselas:JetBlue's founder, Dave Nealman, says the cost of jet fuel could put the airline into bankruptcy this year. According to remarks he made to his current airline pilots on April 15th, which were leaked by aviation watchdog John NYC, JetBlue's in a really tough spot, said the CEO to his pilots. They really are. You know, I think I told you last week, but when Jamie Baker, who's an analyst for JP Morgan, came out with his estimates for all airlines based on 450 fuel, two bucks, it showed JetBlue losing$1 .3 billion this year. That would probably put them, you know, into bankruptcy, I would assume.

16:50Ben Meiselas:The cost of JetFuel last week was as high as$4.80 a gallon. That's unsustainable for all aliens. That's why I said, I think this could be a sign of things to come. James Sirwicki agrees. If JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit had been approved, there's a good chance JetBlue would now be headed into bankruptcy as well. Now, I'll remind you that Donald Trump has bankrupted entity after entity in his career. You don't have to believe me. Why don't you believe Donald Trump's SEC filings regarding his social media company Truth Social? And this is in their disclosure section that they have to file on all of their 10K forms.

17:34Ben Meiselas:It's a requirement that you list your bankruptcies if you are the head of a publicly traded company. And here's what the disclosure says. A number of companies that were associated with Donald J. Trump have filed for bankruptcy. There can be no assurance that TMTG, that's Trump media, will also not become bankrupt. This is from Trump. This is Trump's document. Entities associated with Donald J. Trump have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past. The Trump Taj Mahal, which was built and owned by President Donald J. Trump, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. The Trump Plaza, the Trump Castle, and the Plaza Hotel, all owned by Donald Trump at the time, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992.

18:17Ben Meiselas:THCR, which was founded by Donald Trump in 1995, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. Trump Entertainment Resorts, the new name given to Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts after its 2004 bankruptcy, declared bankruptcy in 2009. Then it goes on to talk about other bankruptcies, by the way, including Trump had a failed airlines as well. Trump had a failed Trump Airlines. Here are companies associated with Trump where he had licensing agreements that went out of business. Trump Shuttle Airlines launched by Trump in 1989, defaulted on its loans in 1990 and ceased to exist by 1992. Trump University ceased to exist by 2011 amid lawsuits and investigations.

19:01Ben Meiselas:Trump Vodka. What else does it say here? Trump Mortgage. it has Trump stakes, go trump.com, Trump university, and lots of all these other Trump lists them all. You can read, I'll have a screenshot there. If you want to take the screenshot, you can list them. And by the way, here's what Donald Trump was saying when he was asked before going to Florida, where he's golfing and watching golf tournaments. Apparently, did you decide against bailing out spirit airlines? Here's what he said before he left and before spirit airlines went bankrupt play this clip. out spirit airlines well i guess we're looking at it if we could do it we'd do it but only if it's a good deal they're claiming that they're preparing to shut down this weekend because they haven't gotten well we're looking at it but if we can't make a good deal no institution's been able to do it i said i'd like to save the jobs but we'll have an announcement sometime today we gave them we gave them a final football and then another person asked him about spirit airlines and you what's going on with the lenders are you able to figure out this bailout and here's what trump said before leaving to go to florida to watch golf here play this clip spirit airlines what has been the hold up on a deal are they talking at it we're looking at trying to help them something we're not looking to get involved with but if we can it's 14 000 jobs uh we are i would say we're driving a tough deal but it's one of those things and we'll do it or We won't.

20:32We'll have something for you today or tomorrow. The President seems like the other lenders are balking. They think they'll get bumped down in priorities. Well, they will. We come first. Hey, you know what it is? USA first. America first. That's my wife. Including with airlines. Including with Intel. You know, we made an Intel deal. You know that, right? We made about$40 billion on that. And someday, Fox and Peter is going to talk about it. But we helped out Intel, and we ended up making$40 billion. dollars. So we're looking at Spirit different, different kind of a thing, but we're looking at Spirit and we can help them.

21:07We will, but we have to come first. We're first. It's America first.

21:12Ben Meiselas:And here's what Sean Duffy said on Spirit Airlines at that press conference where he was blaming Biden. And as we said on the Midas Touch Network, this administration refuses to take responsibility for any of their actions. Spirit specifically cited why they couldn't stay in business, skyrocketing fuel costs due to Trump's war. And the Trump administration is still trying to blame Biden for everything. You can maybe get away with it, February 2025, but it's May 2026. Trump was the, I'll make everything cheaper on day one guy, the no new wars guy. You have to own your own actions. So here's the other thing.

21:50Ben Meiselas:Guys, we'll show the other clip that Duffy said as well. Here, play this clip. This is Spirit's not the only one who's having financial issues right now. There could be more. I would just point this out. Once the merger was denied in 2024, Spirit filed for bankruptcy immediately after the denial. And then last August, Spirit again filed for bankruptcy. So Spirit was in dire straits long before the war with Iran. Multiple times they had filed for bankruptcy. Their model wasn't working. They couldn't get to fiscal health. So this this was not the impetus. The war was not the impetus for spirit. Now you've heard that other airlines have talked about requesting a two point five billion dollar bailout.

22:36I am in continual contact and my team is in contact with all the CEOs of the airlines. I would say that at this point I don't think it's it's necessary. They do have access to cash if they want to come to the U.S. government. we would be a lender of last resort. If they can find dollars in the private markets, I think that's better for them. If there was a need across the low-cost carriers who had made this request, again, there's not$2.5 billion that sit around in Congress that the executive branch can fund a bailout for those airlines. That would have to be a conversation that does happen with Congress, and there would have to be a real need.

23:19And so sometimes what can happen is when there's a conversation about Spirit Airlines and a potential bailout, if you will, what other airlines see as an opportunity. Is this an opportunity for us to get money as well to help our airline out? Not necessarily based on need, but based on opportunity. And I think that's what was happening when the low-cost carriers put out a request for$2.5 billion.

23:46Ben Meiselas:And then as a reminder, Trump has all of his sycophants, you know, like his national economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, was the guy who said, buy all the dot-com stocks back in 2000 before the dot-com bust. This guy's been wrong about everything his whole life. Like he's literally says thing, do the opposite. And here's what he said recently about the golden age is here, it's visible here play this clip but you know that we've had two earnings seasons in a row where basically everything's surprising on the upside that's happening because the golden age that president trump promised is starting to be very visible in the profit data but also more importantly in the wage data if you're a person who has a job where you're making tips uh or you're making overtime or you're a retiree who thought that social security wasn't what you expected you need to make some more money.

24:32All of you got huge tax breaks in the four to seven thousand dollar range because of the big, beautiful bill. And so I think that with strong domestic economy, then the question is, is there something about the foreign relations that could upset that? First, the U.S. economy is the engine of global growth.

24:50Ben Meiselas:And then here was Donald Trump at his latest speech that he gave in Florida saying that 18 trillion dollars is pouring into our country. So 18 trillions pouring in, but you can't give 500 million to Spirit Airlines. They're liars. They're con artists. They're frauds. And just like Trump's bankrupted everything in his life, he's bankrupting this again. Here, let's play it. More than$18 trillion now pouring into our country from all over the globe. Think of that. Think of that. Less than a trillion in four years and 11 months of 12 months hasn't come out yet. We've been that long enough. But in 11 months,$18 trillion.

25:28So that's 18 times more. But think of it. It's really almost 100 times more if you really multiply it out properly. A short time ago.

25:39Ben Meiselas:And I'll just share with you the human toll of this bankruptcy, just so you can hear the last flight by one of the Spirit Airlines pilots getting very emotional. It made me emotional listening to this here. Let's watch it. Great conversations occasionally. A lot of crazy stuff has happened, but it's funny as we sit here, I'll speak for myself. I don't remember any of the bad times. Just the good ones. So, Spirit, believe it or not, started flying in 1983. I think it was called Charter Air at the time. and in 1992 and changed his name to Spirit so we've been in the air since 1983 what is that? 43 years and unfortunately that's over so thank you for your support over the years

26:42and onward and upward, right? go God bless you all.

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