Hey @realDonaldTrump Nice plane! Welcome to Columbia, South Carolina. Air Force One can’t land due to thunderstorms so they are circling over Lake Murray! #wis10 #president #airforceone
Air Force One circled Columbia, South Carolina due to the weather, delaying President Donald Trump’s appearance at a rally where he is scheduled to stand alongside Gov. Henry McMaster. You can see photos and videos below of Air Force One in the air over Columbia. However, at around 7:42 p.m, the plane was able to land, reports said.
The rally was scheduled the night before the Republican primary runoff between McMaster and Greenville businessman John Warren. According to the Post and Courier, thousands of people were waiting at a local high school to see the president, even though the heat had reached 100 degrees.
“Trump’s speech has been delayed. ‘Air Force One has been circling Columbia Metropolitan Airport for more than 30 minutes due to a storm,’ pool reports,” according to journalist Daniel Dale.
However, then a rainbow appeared.
Now, with Air Force One finally close to touching down at Columbia Metro Airport, we have a rainbow. #scpol
One person was excited to see the president’s plane pass their house six times.
What an honor it was to see Air Force One fly over our home, not once, but SIX times!!! #MAGA #LexingtonSC @realDonaldTrump @FoxNews @foxnewsalert @SamWISTV @TheStoryFNC
An unsuccessful landing was attempted:
Here’s what you need to know:
Lightning Delayed the President’s Plane
Despite the crowds, when the 7 p.m. rally start time arrived on June 25, 2018, President Trump was not there because his plane was still in a holding pattern circling around the city. The Post and Courier reported that lightning was the concern that stopped the president’s plane from landing.
Some people saw Air Force One as it flew in the air and snapped videos and pictures, including this person who didn’t make the cut to get into the actual rally:
Here’s another picture of Air Force One over Columbia:
Here’s a view of the radar showing the storm that was preventing Air Force One from landing in South Carolina.
Here is a look at Columbia Doppler radar showing the active thunderstorm activity affecting the arrival of POTUS to Columbia, SC.
Despite the delay, Trump was still finding time to tweet, writing, “Why is Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), perhaps in a near drunken state, claiming he has information that only he and Bob Mueller, the leader of the 13 Angry Democrats on a Witch Hunt, knows? Isn’t this highly illegal. Is it being investigated?”
Bored Reporters Documented the Weather
Pretty bored here so here’s a video of the local media covering the rain as we await @realdonaldtrump
Bored reporters, waiting at the airport for the president to land, took to documenting the weather instead, posting pictures on Twitter.
Some people made fun of the situation.
Other people were confused why Air Force One was trending on Twitter.
Why has air Force one been circling my neighborhood for an hour now? Is something going on at CAE?
Some people couldn’t help take the opportunity to make a political joke out of it.
https://twitter.com/thehighdivers/status/1011391553493979136
One man offered prayers, writing on Twitter, “Prayers for the safety of President Trump and the members of his staff currently aboard Air Force One. President Trump who was originally scheduled to speak on behalf of SC Governor Henry McMaster is currently circling on Air Force One due to bad weather.”
It appeared, though, that the delay just gave Trump more time to tweet. While the plane circled, he wrote, “The hearing of Peter Strzok and the other hating frauds at the FBI & DOJ should be shown to the public on live television, not a closed door hearing that nobody will see. We should expose these people for what they are – there should be total transparency!”