President Donald Trump’s trip back to the United States from the United Kingdom nearly ended in disaster Thursday when the Marine One helicopter was forced into an emergency diversion en route to the airport where Air Force One was waiting to take him home, but the president’s response only deepened the criticism about his character.
According to the BBC, Marine One was carrying Trump and the first lady Melania Trump when it was diverted to Luton Airport after a “minor hydraulic issue” was detected.
Emergency services were seen on the runway as the helicopter touched down before continuing on to Stansted Airport roughly 20 minutes behind schedule.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the pilots landed “out of an abundance of caution” and confirmed that Trump and the first lady “safely boarded the support helicopter.”
Trump had been using the aircraft throughout his second state visit to the UK, shuttling between engagements with King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Thursday’s malfunction happened shortly after the president and Starmer’s joint news conference at Chequers, where they clashed over the question of Palestinian statehood.
But it was Trump’s remarks after the scare that drew the most attention. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way home, he cracked, “Fly safely… You know why I say that? Because I’m on the flight. I want to get home, otherwise I wouldn’t care,” The Daily Beast reported.
The irony was not lost online. One critic wrote: “This is what a sociopath sounds like: ‘Fly safely,’ Trump said. ‘Because I’m on the flight… otherwise I wouldn’t care.’ Trump wants you to care about him. But he, by his own admission, doesn’t care the first thing about you.”
Another pointed out that even if delivered as a joke, the remark was telling: “Even in joking, his lack of character is revealing. ‘Otherwise I wouldn’t care’ — I don’t think it was really a joke.”
Others used the moment to underline his attitude toward his supporters. “Imagine how little he thinks of his MAGA minions,” one social media user noted.
This story is still developing.
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