Trump plane grounded over mechanical issue
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reports on former President Trump’s plane being forced to ground over a mechanical issue on ‘Special Report.’
Former President Trump’s plane was diverted to Billings, Montana, on Friday due to a mechanical issue, a Billings airport official said.
The Republican presidential nominee is scheduled to hold a rally in nearby Bozeman, Montana, Friday evening, and is still expected to make it, Fox News has learned.
Bozeman is roughly 120 miles west of Billings.
"I just landed in a really beautiful place: Montana. So beautiful, flying over, and you just look down and that's the way it's supposed to be," Trump said in a video from his plane posted to social media, making no mention of any plane issues or of the diversion. "I'm here to do some fundraisers and most important to support Tim Sheehy who's running for the U.S. Senate, and we think he's going to do really well. We're going to have a rally. And it'll be a lot of fun."
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Trump walks off the plane at the Philadelphia International Airport on June 22, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sheehy is running against current Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in the state.
Trump will have to get on a private plane to fly to Bozeman, but it's unclear what time that flight will be.
Trump is scheduled to speak at Montana State University at 8 p.m. local time, and is expected to draw thousands of supporters. He was also scheduled to have a fundraiser before the rally.
Some of the rally crowd told Fox News they had been waiting for hours at the venue in anticipation of Trump's arrival.
Trump flies on his private plane, nicknamed Trump Force One, which is a Boeing 757 that includes a living room, flat screen TV and a lounge.
"I'm a worker, right? I'm not a pleasure guy. I'm a worker guy, and it's a tremendous plane for that. It's got great speed, and all that energy gets us to where we're going on time,"Trump told Fox News in January while giving a private tour of his plane.
Trump's plane in Atlanta, Georgia in April. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
He told Fox News that while he loves his plane, Air Force One, the plane flown by the president, is "very special."
"Air Force One is always Air Force One, even if this is nicer," Trump joked. "Air Force One is still Air Force One. I mean it represents something very special."
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned with running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Arizona on Friday.
Fox News' Bill Melugin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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