When Delta Airlines Hit Back at Ann Coulter for 24-Hour Rant: 'Unnecessary and Unacceptable'

In 2017, right-wing columnist Ann Coulter sparked a major controversy with a series of tweets after her seat mix-up on a Delta flight from New York City to Florida. The drama began when Coulter was shifted from her reserved exit row seat to a less favorable one without any explanation or apology. Her frustration resulted in a relentless 24-hour online tirade against the airline. Despite Delta’s response to her criticism, Coulter showed no signs of giving up, as reported by BuzzFeed News.

Coulter took to her X account and wrote, "Hey @Delta, if it was so important for the dachshund-legged woman to take my seat, she should have BOOKED THE SEAT IN ADVANCE. Like I did." In another post she penned, "Airline crew training at @Delta: Replicate Stanley Milgram's prison experiment at Yale, inducing normal people to brutally torture fellow man." She further tweeted, "Hey @Delta, do mind telling me why it was an 'emergency' to move someone else into the seat I had carefully chosen in advance and booked?" 

Coulter also compared the airline to other airlines. She wrote, "@JetBlue has free wifi and doesn't wantonly remove passengers from their assigned seats, booked in advance FOR A REASON. @Delta sucks." "But at least @Delta was nice...[in] summarily snatching my ticket from my hand and ordering me to move without explanation, compensation, or apology," she slammed in yet another post.

Delta responded to Coulter’s complaints by offering a $30 refund for the seat she had originally booked. "We are sorry that the customer did not receive the seat she reserved and paid for," the airline said in a statement. They also issued a response on their website.

It read, “We are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos on social media." They added, “Her actions are unnecessary and unacceptable. Each of our employees is charged with treating each other as well as our customers with dignity and respect. And we hold each other accountable when that does not happen. Delta expects mutual civility throughout the entire travel experience," as reported by Us Weekly.

They also tweeted, "@AnnCoulter Additionally, your insults about our other customers and employees are unacceptable and unnecessary." Coulter claimed that the time she invested in choosing her seat was worth far more than the $30 refund. "$30! It cost me $10,000 of my time to pre-select the seat I wanted, investigate the type of plane, and go back periodically to review seat options," she argued. Delta spokesman Anthony Black clarified that Coulter was reassigned to a different seat within the same row, so her legroom was not affected. Black said, "At the time, she didn't specifically call it out, she didn't complain about it, she didn't say anything about it. She didn't say anything the entire flight—not to anyone."