After former President Trump lost the 2020 election, he no longer had access to Air Force One and his private Boeing 757 was left in disrepair. At the time I wrote that if you wanted to know when he was ready to run again, just watch his private private plane which has gold-plated everything down to the seat belts.
When he announced his candidacy for President seven years ago, he claimed to be worth $10 billion (though self-reported election filings suggested wealth one-eighth that). Yet he asked his small donors to pay for repairs on the plane, registration N757AF, which had been stored at Newburgh-Stewart airport in New York.
The Trump 757, once owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, made an emergency landing last week, diverting while the candidate was enroute to a fundraiser. The campaign now continues on a Gulfstream G550.
Former President Donald Trump landing in a Gulfstream G550 in Aspen for a campaign fundraiser event! Interestingly they put Trump 2024 on the left side. More shots to come.#trump #trump2024 #aspen #colorado #news #president @AspenDailyNews pic.twitter.com/5nZni6VS0k
— Watts Brooks (@WattsBrooks1) August 10, 2024
This was Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane.
.@theaircurrent can confirm reports that the @GulfstreamAero G550 that former President Trump has been using to travel for campaign events was formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein. The aircraft is now owned and operated by Threshold Aviation Group.
— Will Guisbond (@willguisbond) August 11, 2024
That's Jeffery Epsteins old plane – the one he was arrested on when he stepped off of at Teterboro – only to later die in jail. Gulfstream G550 serial 5173 ex N212JE of Jeffery Epstein – still in his Blue Livery .. now N550GP
— bizjets101 (@bizjets101) August 11, 2024
The 16-passeger, 2008 model aircraft, was acquired by Epstein in 2013 and was used primarily to fly between Palm Beach, Manhattan, Paris and the US Virgin Islands. Here are redacted customs records for the aircraft. While it was the aircraft used by Epstein prior to his final arrest and death, it was not the ‘Lolita Express’ which was an older Boeing 727.
While an aircraft that was sold during the pandemic, and available for charter, it seems like a great failure of vetting by the Trump campaign not just because of Epstein’s history (and the nefarious uses of the aircraft itself) but because of Trump’s own past association with Epstein – associations which, to be clear, were notoriously bipartisan.
On the other hand, the continued market for use of the aircraft meant that it could be sold – creating proceeds which could ultimately be available to Epstein’s victims. In some sense maybe the Trump campaign is helping to fund Epstein’s restitution?
Surely the conspiracy theorist will just gloss over this one.
It it actually “grounded”? (I don’t really know the many iterations of what that term means, but presumably you meant that it was not flight-worthy). This seems to show that it flew back to Florida from Montana yesterday: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=aa3410.
Maybe just some other reason they used the G550 for this trip?
A number of times I have wondered why you put things on here. This, however, is really beneath you. In case you have forgotten, Jeffrey Epstein is dead so unless you assume the aircraft has bad juju or some other nefarious
vibes attached to it, why is this at all relevant? It has absolutely nothing to do with Commercial Aviation, which I always thought was the focus of your posts. In the words of the late, great Jimmy Buffett, breathe in, breathe out, move on.
Assuming he actually pays to use it. He’s notorious for not paying his bills
Trump has never met Epstein. He Knows Nothing. As Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” plays and the sinking of the Ship goes down.
You can not make this stuff up.
@American: no, but I’m glad that Mr. Trump won’t need to spend any energy getting used to a new plane. That can be taxing I’m sure.
I assume it’s easier for Trump to just grab the ladies by the ***** in this jet. I assume the roofies and restraints are already a part of the LOPA and snacktray?
@Lurker – it WAS grounded.
You dump a Gulfstream 5/6/7 on the secondary market for lease and there are X for lease/use at any given time. I’m tempted to say they just picked the wrong one and man those optics are a killer.
Does anyone look up the past owners names on their VIN when they buy a used car from a dealer? No, you just make sure it has a clear Carfax and you’re on your way. This is just…. bigger.
Even his plane won’t vote for him.
WE WIN!
I guess his worshippers need to send him more money, perhaps they can cash in those digital trading cards from the scam that had all those different Trump wannabe images of himself when he grows up…the one as an Astronaut might do well, seeing what a class act Sen. Mark Kelly is might help their value..
I’m surprised though, for someone as rich and smart as he says he is that he can’t do a better job of operating his aircraft..…I’m starting to think that he may be a big liar……
As I stated last week when you wrote about President Biden allegedly getting on the wrong plane, this article is also a complete waste of my time. Just because there is an airplane in the story, that doesn’t make it an airplane story.
@Christopher M – last week I *debunked* the story about Biden getting on the wrong plane
Trump didn’t fly his 757 to Bozeman because the city was going to impound the 757 for unpaid bills from Trump’s last rally. So he faked a mechanical and landed in Billings, where they flew a Cessna to Bozeman. From Bozeman, they flew Epstein’s plane to Jackson Hole and then from Jackson Hole to Aspen and then Aspen to Denver. I don’t know the plane Trump flew from Denver to wherever.
@FNT Delta Diamond – He owes the city of Billings, not Bozeman for unpaid expenses from a 2018 rally
A billionaire needs donations to repair his private jet? WTF?
Orange Hitler? Not paying his bills? Color me surprised.
Trump needed the smaller plane to get to the donor events in Aspen. His 737 can’t land there.
Have to wonder if the people that say they believed the election lie are going to fall for it again….
With Trump now looking more likely to lose he seems to be paving the way for making the same claim again. Ever since VP Harris energized the election with messaging that is resonating with America Trump appears to have stepped up the crazy.
Anyway, Ms. Karma missed another opportunity here…..or something…….
What a bunch of losers you are. Move on.
Democrats are such pinheads. Epstein is dead. The plane was sold to a rental outfit like Hertz. Anybody can lease it. Planes break. I know because I fixed them in the Air Force. Something Democrats seem to be unaware of. If my money goes to fixing Donald’s plane–terrific! Better yet, I’ll fix it for free! I’m an avionics specialist.
Larry, out of curiosity, when you describe dems as pinheads, what do you think of people that believe the election lie, or think the Jan 6 attack on our Capitol was fine? Or the many lies, immoral behavior and hypocrisy that is being accepted by Trumps MAGA faction? What about the last few weeks now that we see Trump appearing to be, well let’s just say hardly the person you would want with access to the nuclear codes….he really is looking bad since VP Harris stepped up. Not to mention having Vance as a running mate and next in line for the Presidency, that was a terrible mistake.
“TRUMP’S PLANE GROUNDED AFTER EMERGENCY LANDING—NOW HE’S FLYING JEFFERY EPSTEIN’S JET”. Jeffery Epstein died 5 years ago, almost to the day, therefore could not be the current owner of this jet. If you want to play that game, I am sure you have flown on air craft owned, leased, or occupied by notorious individuals and in a timeframe much less than 5 years. What exactly does that have to do with improving my traveling experience? How do you know where Trump is obtaining the funds to repair his regular air craft? According to most independent financial reviewers, Trump’s current net worth is approximately $7.5 Billion. What does any of this have to do with travel?
Your headline is obviously false and also misleading. Instead of printing an accurate headline that Trump was flying an aircraft formally owned by Jeffery Epstein, as the “HONEST” media has done, you went for the jugular knowing you were providing false information to your readers.
Your hatred for Trump is so strong you are going to destroy what you have worked so hard to build. Do you know anything about Michael Jordans political views? I think not. As Mr. Jordan often says, “I never discuss my political leanings – both Republicans and Democrats by shoes”.
So, you hate Donald J. Trump. Partisan politics does not belong in a Travel News Letter. Keep this up and you will end up like your friend and idol – Leo Laporte. His politics have driven him out of the radio business and now out of a studio and into his attic, for his Podcasts. You can look forward to the same.
Creditability is paramount in all business – especially yours. Your have lost a great deal of you waning creditability through bush-league actions such as these.
I and many others find your actions of publishing such an article to be highly degrading to us, the readers of your newsletter. I hereby request a written apology for publishing false information and treating us in such a disgusting manner and turning this into a political publication.