Donald Trump Air Force One slide deployed at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday while Trump was on Marine One, drawing brief attention as he waited beside the newer aircraft. The slide appeared during a safety check, and Trump said the equipment was being tested to make sure everything works perfectly.
Trump told reporters on the tarmac after exiting Marine One, “They were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure.” He later said, “So they’ve, I guess, already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”
Joint Base Andrews check
The White House print pool reported that what appeared to be an inflatable emergency slide came from the right-side front door of the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747. That door is opposite the entrance Trump typically uses to board the plane. The older white-and-blue Air Force One was moving out of its hangar at the same time and took position a few hundred yards behind the newer aircraft, where it deployed its front and rear stairs.
Trump remained aboard Marine One while the slide was visible extending from the plane. At 2:19 p.m., the helicopter door was still closed. The sequence left the older aircraft available nearby as the safety check continued around the newer jet.
Trump’s tarmac remarks
Trump later emerged from the helicopter and said the equipment had been tested to ensure it was working properly. The check explained the unusual scene, but it also briefly raised questions at Joint Base Andrews about whether the aircraft would be ready for his next flight.
That timing is the practical issue for travelers watching the plane: the scene did not point to a separate travel problem, but it did create a short window in which the aircraft’s use for the next trip was being reviewed. By the time Trump spoke, the check was framed as a test of the slide rather than a broader change in his travel plans.
It was not immediately clear whether the safety check would affect which plane Trump would use for his next flight.