The airline said in a statement that it would “deal with the situation directly with all employees involved, while continuing to warn all employees that public expression of personal opinions while on duty is unacceptable.
“Southwest disapproves of employees sharing their personal political opinions while serving our clients, and the individual perspectives of one employee should not be construed as the position of Southwest and its total of 54,000 employees,” the statement said.
That phrase emerged after the Oct. 2 incident at the NASCAR race in Alabama, which was won by Brandon Brown, a 28-year-old driver interviewed by a NBC Sports reporter.
The crowd behind Brown sang something and the reporter suggested they say “Let’s go, Brandon” to cheer up the driver. But it was becoming increasingly clear to viewers that they were saying, “F—- Joe Biden.”
Some conservatives have pointed to this episode, such as U.S. media reports of Biden. Since then, the sentence has been uttered on the floor of the House of Representatives by a Republican MP, and Biden’s critics often use it on social media and at protests to strike at the Democratic president.