An apparent issue with a new presidential aircraft delayed President Donald Trump’s departure for his GOP convention in Dallas on Wednesday, after an emergency slide deployed on the far side of the plane.
The emergency slide was accidentally deployed on the Qatari-gifted jet that’s serving as Air Force One, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, adding that it was quickly determined that the president would still take the plane to Dallas.
But talking to reporters on the tarmac, Trump suggested the deployment of the slide was intentional.
“They were doing a check on the slide, you know, in the emergency. So, I think it takes about 15 minutes,” Trump told reporters before boarding the plane.
Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews aboard Marine One at 2:02 pm ET. Around the same time, the emergency slide was seen extended from the new plane that the president has often touted as being superior to the old presidential plane.
