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Secretary Duffy Pushing Civility as Holiday Travel Season Begins; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's District Reacts to Her Resignation; Gobble and Waddle Pardoned at the White House. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 25, 2025 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: This Thanksgiving week, the nation is starting what the FAA calls its busiest travel period in 15 years, and the Department of Transportation wants to make sure that passengers have a drama-free experience as they hit the friendly sky.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: OK, so that means no fights or drunken altercations. Secretary Sean Duffy just unveiled a new campaign called the Golden Age of Travel, and he released a new PSA. He says it's designed to bring back civility, courtesy, and class to the once- friendly skies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Things aren't what they used to be. Some would call it the Golden Age of Travel. Let's bring civility and manners back.

Ask yourself, are you helping a pregnant woman put her bag in the overhead bin? Are you dressing with respect? Are you keeping control of your children?

Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants and your pilots? Are you saying please and thank you in general? The Golden Age of Travel begins with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:00]

DEAN: Listen, who's not for some civility? But yes, he's on a mission to civilize, I suppose.

Let's get some insight now from travel advisor and former flight attendant Bobby Laurie. He's also the host of The Jet Set. Good to have you here with us.

We just played a little clip there from Secretary Duffy who's also said, and I'm paraphrasing here, but essentially stop wearing your pajamas on planes.

What do you think about all of this? BOBBY LAURIE, FORMER FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND HOST, THE JET SET: I think it's kind of funny to bring up the whole pajamas into the situation because, you know, when you watch those in-flight altercations on any social media platform, the first thing you're doing is not looking at what they're wearing. But I think there's a lot more at stake to be worried about than people wearing pajamas. Because, you know, what someone deems to be dressed up could be dressed down for somebody else.

And, well, you know, at leisure wear. Some people wear it daily, whereas some wear it just when they're going to the gym. You know, I do think the overall tone of the messaging, though, is correct.

You know, flight attendants and airline crews have been saying this forever. Basically, we're all in this together. So let's just get from point A to point B without getting into a fight and just be nice to one another.

So that message just definitely resonates. The pajamas? I don't know.

SANCHEZ: The Department of Transportation says that they've seen an increase, a 400 percent increase in in-flight disruptive behavior, outbursts, even outright violence. Why do you think that is? If it's not pajamas, if it's not the way that people are dressing, what is going on?

LAURIE: Yes, you know, I think it's the stresses of traveling overall. You know, we're here we are. We're asking the public to, you know, to be kind to one another, be polite to one another.

But then again, when you get to the airport, you're dealing with the airline staffing issues, infrastructure problems, delays, cancellations. And the airlines and the crews are not really being supported with the tools or the ground staff, for that matter, in order to make the travel experience less stressful. And that takes a toll on everybody.

And, you know, you're right, the in-flight altercations has been on the rise. It really peaked during COVID. It did come down coming out of the pandemic, but it's still not lower than what it was pre- pandemic.

So I think that there's a lot of stresses that if we were to remove that from the equation, you'd probably see a decrease in all of these in-flight altercations.

DEAN: Yes, I always -- I fly a lot. It's like every man for themselves and woman, every person for themselves on these planes. I mean, it's like normal people just forget there's anyone else on there.

And it all just goes out the window. It's like a real scarcity mindset in those airports. It's like something about it.

What would you say is a good message to people who fly all the time or fly intermittently? Maybe they're just trying to get through the day, but like what's one thing, you know, hey, on the other side of this as a flight attendant, I wish you knew this.

LAURIE: Yes, you know, it's true because, you know, flight, like especially during the holidays, the flight attendants and the airline crews and everyone at the airport, they're all working to get you home for the holidays, and they might not be home themselves for the holidays. So like I said, this overall message of be kind to one another, say please and thank you, say hello. I can't tell you how many times as a flight attendant myself, I would say hello to someone who boarded the airplane, and they weren't wearing headphones, and they would just walk right past me like I didn't say anything.

So it's just those little things of just, you know, acknowledging another human being. They're there, they have a job to do, you know, and we're all, again, like I said before, we're all in this together. We're all trying to get from point A to point B safely and have a great holiday experience on the other end of it.

SANCHEZ: Bobby, I wish you would take us behind the scenes into the thoughts going through the mind of a flight attendant. When folks enter the plane wearing cut off jean shorts, Crocs, tank tops, is it true that flight attendants will treat you differently based on how you're dressed?

LAURIE: I don't know if they'll treat you differently. But you know, there was a time where if you had to move someone around, or you had to make space in the main cabin, those that were better dressed would get an upgrade to first class. But those days are over with all the frequent flyer programs and all the automatic upgrades.

But you know, a lot of airlines actually have their own dress code built into their contract of carriage, which of course, no one really reads, they just click agree when they buy their ticket and they move on. So like flight attendants are looking for things like that. But also, you know, during the boarding process, flight attendants are watching everyone who boards because in the event of an emergency, you can call on passengers to help you.

So you are taking a look at like, you know, who who would be a good able bodied person is what they call it to actually get out of their seat and help you deal with the situation. And someone with like, you know, really short cut off shorts, that's going to be an issue going down -- going down an emergency slide because your legs will burn on the fabric of the slide itself. So there that's not someone you would call on right away.

DEAN: OK, everyone whoever considered wearing shorts on a plane, please not that --

[15:40:00]

SANCHEZ: I'll wear my jean shorts at home.

LAURIE: Don't do it.

DEAN: OK, including Boris. Bobby, thank you so much and Happy Thanksgiving to you. SANCHEZ: Thanks.

LAURIE: Happy Thanksgiving to you both as well.

DEAN: Thanks.

Still ahead. North Georgia voters in disbelief after Marjorie Taylor Greene's sudden resignation from Congress and her split with the president. How people in her home district are reacting. That's next.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: There has been mixed reaction coming from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green in her Georgia district, specifically after her surprise resignation announcement.

DEAN: It's the political breakup and resignation that blindsided the Beltway. Green deciding to step away from Capitol Hill amid her bitter feud with President Trump. CNN's Jeff Zeleny went to her Ruby Red district to hear directly from her constituents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GULDENSCHUH, VICE CHAIRMAN, FLOYD COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: We wanted Marjorie to -- to be Marjorie. We appreciate her. She doesn't blend into the curtains like other people do up in Washington.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like so many others here in Georgia, David Guldenschuh was talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene and the bombshell announcement she will resign from Congress in January.

But unlike most who only talk about her, he knows her well. And after finishing his weekly radio show today, he said three things above all, explain why she's leaving.

GULDENSCHUH: She may be very, very, very conservative. At the same time, she wants to see things get done.

The second factor, I think, was the Charlie Kirk assassination. That had a profound impact on her. And then the third thing, I think, was just the falling out with President Trump.

ZELENY (voice-over): Among friends and foes alike -- and there are many of both in her hometown of Rome, Georgia -- a sense of disbelief at her decision reverberated from one conversation to another.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was pretty surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't expect that.

ZELENY (voice-over): Sonny Knauss runs the Sunflower Community Bakery and had started to reconsider her view of Greene after she stood her ground against President Trump over the release of the Epstein files.

SUNNY KNAUSS, OWNER, SUNFLOWER COMMUNITY BAKERY: I disagreed with a lot of the stuff she did early on in Congress. I applaud her for breaking away from the pack, because that's a really hard thing to do in politics. There's just a handful of people that are brave enough to do that. So, I've got to hand her that.

ZELENY: Like breaking away from Trump, you mean.

KNAUSS: Right, right. Breaking away from Trump and just standing up.

ZELENY (voice-over): The 14th Congressional District, stretching from Atlanta's suburbs to the Appalachian foothills and Tennessee state line, has long been Trump country, and the Congresswoman has long led the loyalty parade.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Come on up, Marjorie. Come on.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Thank you, Mr. President.

ZELENY (voice-over): All that, a distant memory after she criticized the president, and he turned on her.

TRUMP: Marjorie "Traitor" Greene.

ZELENY (voice-over): The remarkable feud that ultimately led to her resignation video on Friday night --

GREENE: I refuse to be a battered wife, hoping it all goes away and gets better.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- was still fresh on the minds of many people here today, including these two Greene supporters, out for a morning walk.

ZELENY: How was she as a Congresswoman from the district?

GREG GARRETT, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Well, I think she represented the people, what they felt. Not everybody felt that way, obviously. I wouldn't have called her a traitor. That's Trump, you know. But he hits back if you hit him.

ZELENY (voice-over): With 42 days now left in her abbreviated term, there is no shortage of opinions about Greene. Radford Bunker was among those expressing regret to be losing their firebrand in Congress.

RADFORD BUNKER, ATTORNEY: I'm sorry that she resigned. I think that she's a thoughtful person. I, like I said, I'm just sorry that politics has come to the sort of tribalism where you have to agree with everything and everybody.

ZELENY (voice-over): Others, like Virginia McChesney, were far closer to saying good riddance.

VIRGINIA MCCHESNEY, RETIRED TEACHER: We -- this district really just wants someone who represents us instead of thinks of themselves and tries to promote a political point of view.

ZELENY: Are you sorry to see her go?

MCCHESNEY: Not really. I think we've probably seen more of her as a real person in the past three days than we have ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And that was Jeff Zeleny in Rome, Georgia. Thanks so much for that.

Now to some other -- some other headlines we are watching this hour. The oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre has died at the age of 111. Viola Ford Fletcher or Mother Fletcher, as she was known, testified in Congress to the terror she witnessed in 1921.

She was just seven when her affluent neighborhood known as Black Wall Street was torched by a white mob. She told CNN she never got over what she experienced that day and recalled people getting killed, houses, property, school, churches and stores being destroyed with fire. Fletcher's grandson said she died yesterday with a beautiful smile on her face.

SANCHEZ: Also, there's a new site soon to visit marking a tragic chapter in American history. The Mississippi barn where racist, tortured and killed 14 year old Emmett Till will open to the public as a memorial by 2030 ahead of the 75th anniversary of the teens lynching. The Emmett Till Interpretive Center says it bought the property helped by a donation of $1.5 million from TV producer and writer Shonda Rhimes. The center's director says, quote, "We think that where the worst harms have happened, the most healing is possible."

[15:50:00]

Meantime, in Brazil, the Supreme Court there has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving his 27 year prison sentence for plotting an alleged coup to overthrow his successor. Bolsonaro's defense team has chosen not to file a final appeal. As a result, the court has requested that Bolsonaro's conviction be deemed final, squashing any chance of future appeals and triggering his prison time. Bolsonaro has been jailed in Brazil's federal police headquarter since Saturday after he was arrested for tampering with his court ordered ankle monitor, saying that he hit with a soldering iron out of curiosity.

Yes, coming up a long standing Thanksgiving tradition. President Trump pardoning this year's official turkeys will bring you the sounds, the sites and the gobbles when we come back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: President Trump flexing his presidential power today by pardoning two Thanksgiving turkeys. It is all part of a long standing, quirky American tradition at the White House.

SANCHEZ: This year is lucky birds. Gobble and Waddle were spared from the holiday menu. But in a twist, only one of them was invited to the actual pardon ceremony after winning a text message vote.

It could not contain its excitement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we continue a time honored American tradition. Well, that's a well trained turkey. See how happy he is.

TRUMP: Are you ready? Gobble. I just want to tell you this very important. You are hereby unconditionally pardoned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We're joined now by CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali. Tim, great to see you as always. So take us back.

Where did this tradition become a tradition?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: OK, the first formal presidential pardon of a turkey was by George Herbert Walker Bush in 1989. That doesn't mean that every turkey that had been given to a president was eaten. Richard -- the Nixon family sent their turkeys to farms, as did the Reagans.

And John F. Kennedy made it clear he did not want to kill the very plump turkey that he was given in 1963. And historically, it is said that Abraham Lincoln, after receiving a big turkey, decided not to have it a family meal because his son Tad became attached to the turkey, and the turkey became part of the Lincoln family.

So some people say that the first turkey pardon was by Abraham Lincoln, but the first formal one was by George Herbert Walker Bush.

DEAN: And there is this kind of balance between, you know, pardoning a turkey and the funny piece of all of that and gobbling while the president's talking. And then there's the seriousness of obviously what's going on in the world. The fact that there are a lot of Americans struggling to make ends meet right now, and affordability has been a really, really tough thing for a lot of people.

The president claiming turkey prices are down since he took office. But we got economic data today that a lot of people are struggling. So how do presidents and particularly President Trump balance all of that?

NAFTALI: Well, I think there are moments when Americans need a fun, a political tradition. And for me, it's a delight to be able to talk about pardons in an uncontroversial or noncontroversial way. So, I think that the fact that the president is given a turkey is a sign that the country has abundance.

The fact that the president has the power not to eat that turkey is a reminder that our wealth is not shared equitably around this country.

SANCHEZ: That is a strong point. I found it interesting that Trump made a joke directed at Democrats saying that he was considering naming the turkeys Chuck and Nancy, but then ultimately said that he wouldn't pardon either of them. You you say that this is something that should be a jovial moment outside of politics.

The president seems to inject them into everything.

NAFTALI: All right. Well, let me just say that President Trump probably didn't say -- didn't mention the fact that he has condition -- he has continued President Obama's tradition.

President Obama was the first president to pardon two turkeys. In fact, the president with the most turkey pardons, and I don't mean the most pardons of turkeys, is President Obama, who pardoned 16 turkeys over the course of his two terms. So today, President Trump continued a tradition started by President Obama, but I don't think he mentioned it.

DEAN: Yes, it is -- there is something about traditions and especially now in the world we live in, and with this president who defies traditions that this one has stuck.

NAFTALI: It's a good thing. It should. There should be presidential norms that don't get disrupted.

This is a fine tradition, and I'm sure both of those turkeys, if they understood what happened, are much happier to work.

SANCHEZ: It seemed like Gobble understood. It was --

DEAN: Yes, Gobble was happy.

SANCHEZ: It was a call and response at times. Had you seen anything like that before?

NAFTALI: Boris and Jessica, I am not a turkey whisperer.

DEAN: You're not.

NAFTALI: I have no idea why the turkey but I will say this. It was an elegant turkey, and I'm sure it will enjoy its life at some kids petting zoo, which is probably what it deserves.

[16:00:00]

SANCHEZ: They are notoriously unfriendly animals, so I hope for the sake of those children that they don't get too close --

DEAN: He's going to North Carolina.

SANCHEZ: Impeccably dressed turkeys, though.

DEAN: Yes, yes.

SANCHEZ: Very polished.

DEAN: Tim, thank you.

NAFTALI: My family did not have turkey. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

DEAN: You too.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Tim.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END