Was the main cabin door open or not? That is when the phones need to be off right? Captain made his welcome announcement to the folks "blah, blah, blah" and as part of his spiel says time to start turning off electrical devices. Sounds to me like the FA was being a little aggressive. "I don't make the rules, only enforce them". Were they delaying the takeoff until he was off the phone or were they at the gate still boarding and getting passenger counts? So what is the rule? Cell phones have been ubiquitous for over a decade and we haven't figured this out yet. Main door closes = electrical devices off.
Dem / GOP - who cares. What were the real circumstances? Schumer is a frequent flier, not some hayseed taking his first flight. He has been told the rules already.
Seems like after main gear touches the ground on landing all the phones start powering up in the cabin for the taxi in with no dire consequences.
I fly regularly with Captains who fire up their cell phones on ten mile final to tell wifey to come get them at the airport. I challenge them on it and they try to make me feel like a tool for having a problem with it. Maybe these "above the rules" Captains can hang up the uniform and run for Senate.
Cheers