Donald Trump gloated about the Air Force One pilots who flew him from Palm Beach back to D.C. as travelers across the U.S. were stranded by thousands of flight cancellations.
The president was in high spirits after Air Force One performed a flyover of Northwest Stadium in Maryland Sunday afternoon as he arrived from Florida to attend a Washington Commanders game.
“I just want to say: Was that the greatest flyover ever? Nobody’s ever done a flyover like that,” Trump, 79, bragged to reporters after stepping off the Boeing 747 at Joint Base Andrews.
“So these are the best pilots in the world. They say, whoever flies Air Force One [are] the best pilots. And we just saw that, that was great. Things are going along very well—country’s doing well!” the president beamed, before adding, “The Democrats have to open [the government] up.”
While Trump may have enjoyed a smooth flight aboard Air Force One, other American fliers have endured chaos since the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut hundreds of flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports.
More than 2,200 flights were canceled and more than 7,200 flights were delayed on Sunday, NBC News reports. The cuts come as air traffic controllers continue working without pay amid what is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Trump spent much of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, where he played golf and hosted yet another glitzy party attended by a who’s who of conservative politicians, pundits, and administration officials.
On Sunday, Trump flew back to D.C. to participate in a Veterans’ Day “Salute to the Service” halftime ceremony during the Commanders’ game against the Detroit Lions.
But Trump, the first sitting president to attend a regular-season NFL game since Jimmy Carter in 1978, wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms, with boos filling the stadium as he appeared on the screen and addressed the crowd.
According to an ESPN report, Trump wants the Commanders’ planned $3.7 billion stadium to be named after himself and has been having private communications with Josh Harris, who leads the ownership group behind the team.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t deny the report, calling the potential new name “beautiful.”
