Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson Embraces Inner Karen, Slams Southwest Airlines Over Mask Dispute

Some passengers will be pleased to learn that they no longer have to wear masks when flying Southwest Airlines. That subset most certainly includes Mayor Eric Johnson.

On Tuesday, Dallas-based Southwest took to Twitter to announce that face coverings are now optional on board its flights. American Airlines, which is headquartered in Fort Worth, is doing the same.

The move comes as the federal government said it’s no longer enforcing mask mandates on public transportation. But before the airlines' Twitter announcements, Johnson engaged in an old-fashioned social media vent session.

In a thread on Monday, the mayor described his trip home from Washington, D.C., in the way that a woman named Karen might ask to speak to your manager.

“Traveling back to Dallas from DC Reagan and the @SouthwestAir ticket counter folks are not allowing anyone to even check a bag or receive a boarding pass who isn’t wearing a mask,” Johnson said in a tweet at 6:47 p.m. “Never seen power tripping quite like it. Shameful.”

Traveling back to Dallas from DC Reagan and the @SouthwestAir ticket counter folks are not allowing anyone to even check a bag or receive a boarding pass who isn’t wearing a mask. Never seen power tripping quite like it. Shameful.

— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) April 18, 2022

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Not everyone on the internet agreed with Johnson’s take, and many made sure to let him know. Some argued the mayor wasn’t setting a good example for constituents, and others reminded him that we’re all still in the middle of a pandemic, so mask-dissing might not be the best move.

Still, Johnson doubled down on his stance and pointed to the fact that the mask mandate was no longer being enforced by the Transportation Security Administration.

“YOU CAN STILL WEAR A MASK IF YOU WANT. But no AIRLINE TICKET AGENT can tell you you can’t even be IN THE AIRPORT without a mask,” he said at 8:38 p.m. “This is still a nation of laws.”

Well, that escalated quickly.

Again, this is about respecting the law. The mask mandate is no longer being enforced by TSA at US airports. Period. YOU CAN STILL WEAR A MASK IF YOU WANT. But no AIRLINE TICKET AGENT can tell you you can’t even be IN THE AIRPORT without a mask. This is still a nation of laws.💯 https://t.co/SlvRNSAQxr

— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) April 19, 2022

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Regardless of the update in airport coronavirus guidance, Twitter users defended the airline workers who had become the targets of Johnson’s fiery tweets. Some argued that the employees might not have heard the news yet. Others hypothesized that they may have been waiting to receive notice of a change in company policy.

At 9:44 p.m., Johnson tripled down.

“Had a meeting in the West Wing today. A very productive one, I might add,” he wrote. “The White House itself, like the 30,000 invitee Easter Egg Roll, was also mask optional. I so hate to be the bearer of news that, for reasons that completely escape me, make certain folks apoplectic.”

Projection? Perhaps. One Twitter user said it best in a reply: “Dude, log off.”