‘Yikes!’: Don Jr.’s Response to Dem Lawmaker Looking at Inappropriate Photos on Airplane
The article discusses a viral controversy involving Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman, who was caught looking at sexually suggestive images on his iPad during a flight.The incident gained widespread attention on social media, amassing over 15 million views within a day. Donald Trump Jr. responded succinctly with a “Yikes!” emphasizing the simplicity of the situation.
Sherman admitted to viewing the images but deflected duty by blaming the platform’s algorithm, controlled by Twitter (now named X) owner Elon Musk, for showing him such content without his request. He described the images as part of the “For You” feed he was scrolling through during a long flight and tried to minimize the situation by saying looking at pictures of women might be no different than admiring a sunset.
the article criticizes Sherman’s reaction as evasive and immature, arguing that as a public figure and a married man, Sherman should take responsibility for his choices rather than blaming external factors. It also highlights the pervasive nature of online pornography and stresses that individuals must take accountability for their actions when exposed to such content, especially in public settings.
the piece portrays Sherman’s excuse as unconvincing and suggests it damages his credibility, concluding with a dismissive tone consistent with Donald Trump Jr.’s brief reaction.
Sometimes one word says it all — and others say far too much.
First son Donald Trump Jr.’s response to the internet-driven tale of a California congressman caught looking at sexually suggestive pictures on an airplane is an example of the first.
Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman’s passive-aggressive response to his own embarrassment is an example of the second.
Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today? His district deserves better representation than this!! #CA32 pic.twitter.com/gAYZ82tyr2
— Dear White Staffers (@dearwhitestaff) November 14, 2025
The story started when the user of an account on the social media platform X, clearly no friend of Sherman’s, circulated pictures of the lawmaker apparently scrolling through photos of women wearing what appears to be underwear.
“Why did California Congressman Brad Sherman feel it was appropriate to look at porn on his iPad during a flight today?” the user wrote. “His district deserves better representation than this!!”
The post went viral, amassing more than 15 million views as of Monday morning (more than 13.7 million of those views in its first 24 hours, according to the New York Post).
Donald Trump Jr.’s response summed things up concisely.
“Yikes!” he wrote.
Yikes!!!! https://t.co/CuyH4cxqni
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 15, 2025
In the world of 2025, when it seems that pretty much every American carries a portable phone capable of providing pornography that would make Caligula blush, that’s an apt response.
Pornography is the ubiquitous filth of the internet world, available to men and women of all ages, at any time of the day or night, in any place, public or private. Its impact can be devastating on individuals, relationships, and children.
Young men are particularly vulnerable — they always have been. But women aren’t immune.
Sherman’s response to the controversy, however, was no more appropriate than his actions in the first place.
In an interview posted to X by Punchbowl News founder John Bresnahan, Sherman acknowledged looking at the images — but then attempted to turn the topic from his own carnal desires and blame X owner Elon Musk.
Sherman said the pics came up in the “For You” X feed he was perusing during a long flight.
“I must’ve looked at more than 1000 posts” during the trip, Sherman told Bresnahan.
“If I see a picture of a woman, might I look at it longer than a sunset? Yeah.”
He should have stopped there.
That’s understandable. It wasn’t like Sherman was caught looking at child pornography, or a Robert Maplethorpe retrospective.
What wasn’t understandable was this:
“Is it pornography? I don’t think Elon Musk thinks so,” Sherman told Bresnahan.
“Is it appropriate? No.”
What exactly Elon Musk has to do with the recreational choices of a 71-year-old on a long airplane flight is apparently self-evident to the Democratic lawmaker.
But to sane Americans, that looks like a transparent dodge — something a teenager in the throes of youthful irresponsibility and hormones might come up with.
A statement issued by Sherman’s office was even worse:
“This was nothing more than scrolling through Twitter — and, unfortunately, Elon Musk has ruined the Twitter algorithm to give people content that they don’t ask for or subscribe to.”
Seriously? It’s Elon Musk’s fault that a septuagenarian man decided to put some time into ogling semi-naked women in the public space of a cross-country flight?
Sherman has a record of apparent sanity, at least in the contemporary Democratic Party. But now, his office is insulting the intelligence of even Democrats.
When images of every description abound — violating every sense of decency — it’s almost inevitable that anyone connected to social media is going to end up with something on the screen, at some time, that makes the old Playboy centerfold look chaste.
When it happens, users have choices to make. And the users are responsible for making them.
Sherman, a married man, quite clearly chose to spend his time enjoying the visual delights of attractive women in revealing clothing. If that’s the worst thing a California Democrat did with his time, the country would be a better place all around.
Sherman could have manned up to the situation, taken his of responsibility, and explained it all away as a moment of weakness in a situation he didn’t control. It would have been an incredibly easy way out — not to mention probably honest.
Instead, Sherman decided to try to place the blame on someone else entirely. And then the people he apparently pays to manage his image decided to double down on the absurdity.
This is the best a U.S. congressman of almost three decades’ standing can come up with? That it’s Elon Musk’s fault? Nobody’s buying that.
It’s almost enough to make an observer suspect there’s a whole lot worse going on with Rep. Sherman that hasn’t come to light on a cross-country flight.
As Donald Trump Jr. might put it, yikes.
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