Texas Lt. Gov. on American Airlines Condemning New Law: They ‘Admitted’ CEO Didn’t Even Read It | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ryan Saavedra.

    Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick slammed American Airlines on Thursday evening after the airline called out the state's new security measures to protect elections, claiming that a representative from the company called him and told him that the head of the company didn't even read the bill.

    "Earlier this morning, the Texas State Senate passed legislation with provisions that limit voting access," American Airlines said in a statement that echoed remarks made by leftists who have attacked recent measures to secure elections across the country. "To make American's stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it."

    "Any legislation dealing with how elections are conducted must ensure ballot integrity and security while making it easier to vote, not harder," the company said at the end of their statement. "At American, we believe we should break down barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion in our society — not create them."

    Patrick fired back in a statement shortly after American Airlines released their statement.

    "As Lt. Governor of Texas, I am stunned that American Airlines would put out a statement saying 'we are strongly opposed to this bill' [Senate Bill 7] just minutes after their government relations representative called my office and admitted that neither he nor the American Airlines CEO had actually read the legislation," Patrick said. "We heard these same outcries claiming voter suppression in 2011 when Texas passed the photo voter ID bill. In fact, just the opposite occurred. Voter turnout in Texas soared from 7,993,851 in 2012 to 11,144,040 in 2020, a 39 percent increase. Gubernatorial election voter turnout has increased by 76 percent since photo voter ID was passed."

    "Texans are fed up with corporations that don't share our values trying to dictate public policy. The majority of Texans support maintaining the integrity of our elections, which is why I made it a priority this legislative session," Patrick added. "Senate Bill 7 includes comprehensive reforms that will ensure voting in Texas is consistent statewide and secure."

    Patrick ended the statement by highlighting that American Airlines has tried to engage in promoting far-left policies in the state of Texas. "By the way, this is the same American Airlines that in 2017 led the fight to try to force us to allow boys to play girls sports in Texas and take away their scholarships," Patrick said. "They are probably still fighting for that today and it is likely they have not read Senate Bill 29 either."

    The news involving American Airlines follows Delta Airlines criticizing Georgia for also passing measures to increase security in elections.

    The Daily Wire reported:

• Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law last week a bill overhauling his state's election procedures designed to increase security and address issues that surrounded the 2020 election. Delta initially supported key measures of the legislation after it was signed, then backtracked days later amid calls for boycotts pushed by left-wing publications.
• Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the new election law "does not match Delta's values." Republicans in the state House, angered by Bastian's sudden flip on the election overhaul, hit back at the company by voting to strip it of a jet fuel tax break worth over $35 million a year, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

    "They like our public policy when we're doing things that benefit them," House Speaker David Ralston said. "You don't feed a dog that bites your hand. You got to keep that in mind sometimes."