US: Donald Trump's plane diverted due to mechanical issue ahead of Montana rally
Aug 10, 2024
Montana [US], August 10 : Former US President Donald Trump's plane was diverted on Friday (local time) to Billings, due to a mechanical issue, CBS News reported citing airport officials.
Trump's plane suffered the technical snag, details of which are unconfirmed as of now, ahead of a scheduled rally in Montana's Bozeman.
The former US President is slated to hold the rally on Friday night (local time). It was supposed to begin at 8 pm local time, or 10 pm ET. However, his private plane landed in Billings Friday afternoon, Billings-Logan International Airport said in a statement.
Notably, Bozeman is about 150 miles west of Billings.
The airport stated that Trump's plane "landed without incident," and added that he has departed for Bozeman on another private plane, according to CBS News.
This is Trump's first rally of the week; his rivals, Gov. Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as running mate Sen. JD Vance, have been traveling across important battleground states.
Trump was shot during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than a month ago. Since Bill Clinton won the state's presidential contest in 1992, Montana is seen as a safe Republican state.
However, the goal of Trump's visit is to help Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy defeat Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, who is running for re-election in November, reported CBS News.
Trump launched his bid to reclaim the White House in November 2022.
He aims to reclaim the White House after his bitter exit in 2020, as he looks forward to becoming only the second commander-in-chief to win two non-consecutive terms in office.
