Trump Slams ‘Fake News’ Over PAC Fundraising Reports

Former President Donald Trump Saturday slammed “Fake News and stories” being reported about him in connection with recent fundraising activities, claiming that “anything positive does not get reported” where he is concerned.

“The story is Fake News about my plane being “mothballed” in Stewart Airfield in Newburgh, New York, because ‘I didn’t think I would need it until 2025,’” Trump said in the press release, issued through his Save America PAC.

“My plane, a Boeing 757, is going through a major scheduled maintenance program, which will be completed in approximately 90 days. It will then be put back into service. I was not allowed to use it during the Presidency, and didn’t.”

That remark came after articles detailing a fundraising request for supporters to assist him in the purchase of a new plane.

The fundraising emails were sent after a private jet carrying Trump lost power in one of its three engines after leaving New Orleans’ Lakefront Airport and flying over the Gulf of Mexico on March 5, forcing an emergency landing at Louis Armstrong International Airport, according to NOLA.com.

He was on his way back to Washington after a meeting and speech with Republican donors in New Orleans.

“My team is building a BRAND NEW Trump Force One,” an email to supporters from Trump’s Save America PAC said. “I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see. The construction of this plane has been under wraps. Not even the fake news media knows about it – and I can’t wait to unveil it for everyone to see.”

The engine failure over the Gulf of Mexico was not mentioned in the request.

Meanwhile, the campaign plane Trump used during his 2016 presidential campaign is still at Stewart Air Field in New York, where it is said to be “mothballed” and in need of extensive repairs, according to media reports.

According to a January 2021 report in The Daily Mail, Trump’s $100 million Boeing 757-200, which he used during the 2016 presidential campaign, has been in storage at the airfield since 2019 and requires extensive repairs.

According to The Daily Mail, Jon Ostrower, editor in chief of The Air Current, reported at the time that the plane was grounded because an engine needed to be replaced.

Ostrower had also tweeted in December 2020 that a tipster told him the plane wasn’t kept as service-ready because Trump “didn’t think he’d need it again for another four years.”

“Such Fake News and stories about me on Google. Anything positive does not get reported,” Trump said in his statement. “Even the NELK Boys record-setting interview with me was taken down because I told the TRUTH, which the Radical Left cannot handle. The Media and Big Tech is doing everything possible to destroy our Country. They are truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”

“A winner from Save America PAC WAS chosen for dinner and that winner, and family, will soon be coming to Palm Beach, Florida. Reporting by the Washington Post was inaccurate and, Fake News. These arrangements were handled directly by President Trump’s representatives.”

According to The Post, the PAC sent out at least 15 emails in recent weeks offering donors of any amount the opportunity to dine with Trump last Saturday in New Orleans, but no one was chosen.

According to the newspaper, which cited four people familiar with the issue, there was no hotel booked, as promised in the email, and Trump did not meet with any small-dollar donors, instead of greeting large-amount GOP donors and speaking to a group who had each given tens of thousands of dollars.