>>81691790 (OP)
Misdirect their ire.
Emotions are also a logic. If you point them in a direction they will pivot 9/10 times unless they specifically dislike you.
My favorite is blaming corporate and/or government incompetence since it is universal.
If they're already emotional over something else you can just agree with them, maybe adding a supplementary line to support it. Agreeing with them in most circumstances will automatically make them more manageable. It doesn't matter if you personally agree their sentiment but if you just give a "yes" it has more of a bullshitty tone to it you want to avoid.
It sounds like a lot of stupid games but it avoids a lot of needless conflict and keeps things running smoothly. It's just more efficient to placate them, feed their ego and move on instead of fighting.