Most parents wouldn’t be happy to see their kids’ school bus driver pull up wearing a red MAGA cap. Even if you support Donald Trump, transporting children to school is hardly the time or place to go about making political statements.
Well, in Littlestown, Pennsylvania, (former) school bus driver Dave Bonhoff won’t be doing that anymore, because he chose to quit rather than remove his MAGA hat. Bonhoff, a retired cop who was apparently known to kids as “Mr Dave from Bus #73” (hardly the most affectionate nickname), has hit out at his employers for what he says are unfair rules.
Bonhoff was employed by Krise Transportation, who are contracted by the Littlestown Area School District to run the school buses. Krise Transportation says in their dress code policy that employees are prohibited from wearing “clothing with text or graphics deemed inappropriate by management, including items referencing political sentiments.”
Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Resigns After MAGA Hat Dispute
— Washington Eye (@washington_EY) March 15, 2026
A school bus driver in Pennsylvania resigned after the district barred him from wearing a Make America Great Again hat while on duty, sparking debate over political expression in public school workplaces.… pic.twitter.com/dXJh8sAw2P
As such, after a complaint by a student, Bonhoff’s supervisor approached him to figure something out. As Bonhoff explained:
“She contacts me and says, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to buy you a hat, an American flag hat, because the school district has deemed that they don’t want you to wear that ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.”
What a hill to die on…
Seems like a fairly sensible solution and, frankly, it’s nice that she’s offering to buy him a new hat herself! But Bonoff decided that this was absolutely going to be the hill he would die on and proceeded to make the terrible argument that the hat that literally everyone associates with Donald Trump and MAGA is, actually, totally apolitical:
“I think that saying that this hat is political is absurd. It’s patriotic. … I would say that making America great is what we should all strive to be. Anybody who doesn’t want America to prosper, I take issue with them.”
Uh-huh. Sure, buddy. The MAGA hat isn’t political. Got it. And so, given a choice between wearing a slightly different hat and continuing to be gainfully employed, Bonhoff chose to walk. As reported by CBS 21, he quit just before his afternoon route. Which I guess means the schoolkids had to walk too.
Bonhoff doubtlessly thinks of himself as some kind of brave freedom fighter taking a stand for liberty against the man. What he actually is an unemployed former bus driver. But apparently, all this was worth it as long as he gets to wear his dumb hat:
“I want to be able to express myself. I don’t want somebody to tell me, well, my feelings are hurt. You got to take the hat off.'”
Bonhoff has gotten his wish. He can now wear his hat as much as he likes while standing in the unemployment line.
