According to a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration, former President Donald Trump’s Boeing 757 “clipped” an unoccupied private jet Sunday while taxiing after landing at West Palm Beach International Airport.
“AIRCRAFT TAXIING AND WINGLET STRUCK THE REAR ELEVATOR OF A PARKED VISTAJET,” the notice reads, as cited by WFLA (emphasis original).
The outlet noted that the FAA included the plane’s registration number, N757AF, which FAA records show belonging to DJT Operations I LLC.
The report indicated that any damage that might have occurred in the incident was as yet unknown, but that no one had been injured.
Also unknown was whether the former president himself was on his 757 at the time of the incident, but the FAA told the station that it was still investigating.
“A privately owned Boeing 757 landed safely at West Palm Beach International Airport around 1:20 a.m. local time on Sunday, May 12,” an FAA spokesperson told WFLA in a statement. “While taxiing, its winglet contacted a parked and unoccupied corporate jet.
“The incident occurred in an area of the airport where the FAA does not direct aircraft,” the statement added.
The news came out Tuesday amid what the Trump campaign must have seen as more positive reports of the former president’s polling ahead of November’s presidential election.
CNN, for example, Trump is leading President Joe Biden in three battleground states by such wide margins that a CNN analyst called the numbers “an absolute disaster” for Biden’s campaign.
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CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said the latest polls showed Trump beating the president in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, and within the margin of error of polls conducted in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“Frankly, for the Joe Biden campaign, these numbers are an absolute disaster,” Enten said Monday. “The smallest lead is in Arizona for Donald Trump. He’s up 6. Look at this, 9 in Georgia.”
The New York Times/Siena College polls of 4,097 registered voters were conducted in the six battleground states from April 28 to May 9. (The Philadelphia Inquirer contributed to the Pennsylvania poll, the Times noted.)
The Nevada survey had the presumptive GOP nominee over Biden by 13 points.
The CNN reporter noted that Trump’s smaller leads in Pennsylvania (3 points) and Wisconsin (1 point) were within the margin of error.
However, Biden’s 1-point lead in Michigan was also within striking range for Trump.
“My goodness gracious. … That is a huge lead,” Enten said. “No Democrat has lost that state since [former Sen.] John Kerry lost it back in 2004.”
Here’s my deal on the NYT polling out this AM. The Sun Belt battlegrounds are an abject disaster for Biden, & NYT is not the first to show that.
The Great Lakes battlegrounds are something Biden’s campaign can work with. It leaves him a (narrow) path to 270 at this point pic.twitter.com/gkM7pppR3K
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) May 13, 2024
When asked why the former president was outperforming the incumbent so dramatically, Enten said it’s because “the Trump coalition is changing” and getting more racially diverse.
He pointed out that the Republican candidate has gained ground with nonwhite voters even though he has lost some traction among white voters.
“The sense that Mr. Biden would do little to improve the nation’s fortunes has helped erode his standing among young, Black and Hispanic voters, who usually represent the foundation of any Democratic path to the presidency,” The New York Times wrote Monday of its survey.
The left-leaning Times argued that the poll results suggest that Americans perceive a nation in turmoil under the Biden administration.
“The findings reveal widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the country and serious doubts about Mr. Biden’s ability to deliver major improvements to American life,” the Times said. “Nearly 70 percent of voters say that the country’s political and economic systems need major changes — or even to be torn down entirely.”
