Trump Claims That He’s Not Begging His Supporters to Pay for a New Plane

A few weeks back, a private plane Donald Trump was a passenger on had to make an emergency landing. Within 24 hours of the news breaking, a fundraising email went out to the former president’s supporters that discussed the building of a new “Trump Force One.” While the message did not explicitly ask for donations for the plane, the timing was certainly curious.

Trump was asked about the email last night during a phone interview with The Hill. He claimed that he was not asking supporters to pay for the aircraft.

“The story was incorrect,” the former President said. “I already have a plane, the same one I used on the 2016 campaign.” Trump continued, “It is owned by me and financed by me, with no debt.”

The former President claimed ignorance when pressed about the timing and the content of the fundraising email. “I don’t know. I never saw the email [before it went out],” he said. Trump also noted, “[the story was] ridiculous. … Can you imagine me using campaign funds for a plane?”

Of course, it is easy to imagine Trump asking his supporters to pay for a new plane. And his original email read at the bottom, “Contribute ANY AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY to send your response to President Trump!”