Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wants you to believe that a fellow passenger recognized him mid-flight, tracked the exact second he got up to use the restroom, and composed and slipped a handwritten note into his seat before he made it back. It's a cute story, and no one seems to believe it.
Kelly posted the tale on X Wednesday evening, saying he found a pencil note on a napkin while flying from Boston to Phoenix. "On a flight from Boston to Phoenix and this note was in my seat when I returned from the restroom," Kelly wrote. "I think this shows how much an entire generation is struggling."
He shared a photo of the note.
"I'm 25 years old with a college degree, 4 years into my career, and I'm just barely scraping by," it read. "I cannot see myself ever being able to afford kids or a home. Everyday, a financially secure future feels farther and farther out of reach. Please fight for affordable housing and health care. I am quite literally begging you."
Kelly didn't waste much time turning a napkin into a pseudo campaign ad. Whether it's his own children or a stranger on "a random flight," he said, young Americans are drowning in "massive anxiety and uncertainty about the future."
"This government hasn't done jack s**t for hardworking young Americans who have done everything right," Kelly wrote, "but if you are a billionaire with a big stock portfolio and a bigger tax cut, Trump's 'Golden Age' has arrived."
On a flight from Boston to Phoenix and this note was in my seat when I returned from the restroom. I think this shows how much an entire generation is struggling. Whether it’s my own kids or a random person on a random flight, young people are frustrated. There is massive anxiety… pic.twitter.com/RIFRVawqzc
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) September 9, 2026
Here's the problem. For Kelly's story to check out, someone had to recognize him and wait for him to use the bathroom. Then the person either had to write the note quickly and deliver it with enough time before Kelly returned, or already have a fully written note in hand to drop in his seat before he sat back down. Meanwhile, we have to believe that this went undetected by any other passengers on the plane.
If you read the replies on the post, you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who actually believes the story.
Politicians inventing sentimental fictions to sell an agenda isn't new. Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D-50th District) has claimed that disillusioned Trump supporters come up to him at rallies. Kamala Harris told us she worked at McDonald's in college. Hillary Clinton once fibbed that she landed in Bosnia under sniper fire, a claim so obviously false that even friendly reporters couldn't defend it once the video surfaced.
Recommended: Wait! John Fetterman Spoke at the GOP's Midterm Convention?
Perhaps the worst offender is Joe Biden, who built an entire political identity on fictional stories, from his tale of riding Amtrak with a conductor who didn't exist to his account of having a teenage "epiphany" on gay marriage after seeing two men kiss and hearing his father say, "Joey, it's simple, they love each other." Never mind that he actually opposed same-sex marriage until 2012.
Kelly's napkin note fits neatly into that tradition. Naturally, social media noticed immediately and picked the story apart from every possible angle, including the impossible timeline and the suspiciously tidy prose for something supposedly scrawled in pencil under pressure. Some even argued that the handwriting was similar to Kelly’s own. Others composed their own parody notes. Frankly, quite a few of the parodies were more believable than the original.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member