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Updated on: September 9, 2026 / 3:01 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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Washington — President Trump's departure to Texas on Wednesday was delayed after an inflatable emergency slide on the new Qatar-gifted Air Force One deployed on the tarmac before he boarded, prompting workers to eventually remove it.The president was headed to Dallas for the RNC's Midterm Convention. He was waiting to disembark from Marine One to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews when reporters spotted the slide had inflated and reached the ground. The old Air Force One soon arrived as a backup. Mr. Trump approached reporters and said workers were examining the slide, claiming nothing was wrong with the safety feature. "So they're checking the slide over here," Mr. Trump told reporters. "They were doing a check on the slide, you know?"
