"Due to the Shutdown," Trump wrote in the letter made public by Sarah Sanders, "I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed," Trump wrote.
"We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over."
The President also called the trip a "public relations event," and incorrectly characterized her travel. Speaker Pelosi was not stopping in Egypt, and the Brussels stop was to refuel.
"In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate,” the President said.
As Commander-in-Chief, Trump has the ability to dictate use of military aircraft.
But just after Sarah Sanders was sending out this letter, First Lady Melania Trump was making her way on a presidential military jet – what would have been Air Force One had the President been on board – heading towards Mar-a-Lago.
The Twitter account CivMilAir, which tracks civilian and military aircraft of note, posted the First Lady's trip at 4:30 PM ET, playfully hashtagging the post, "#MelaniaForceOne."
EXEC1F - #MelaniaForceOne climbing out from Joint Base Andrews
🇺🇸 US Air Force
C-32A 98-0001 https://t.co/BlmOXELhxJ pic.twitter.com/kgGWuEiiGV
— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) January 17, 2019
Just before 5 PM she was over North Carolina:
34,000ft heading over North Carolina
🇺🇸 USAF C-32A 98-0001 EXEC1F pic.twitter.com/HK9EPtfnhC
— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) January 17, 2019
Politico and CNN verified the First Lady's flight:
I am listening to air traffic control
EXEC1F appears to be headed to Palm Beach. ATC just said they will have to do some serious vectoring to get the plane in line with the rest of the Palm Beach traffic.
EXEC1F is typically the callsign for a plane with the first lady on it.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 17, 2019
NEW: @NoahGrayCNN @KateBennett_DC @ElizLanders report @FLOTUS is currently in the air on her way to Florida for a pre-scheduled trip... on a government plane.
— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) January 17, 2019
Naturally, the mocking began quickly:
So it looks like military planes ARE okay to fly Melania Trump to the president's private resort in Palm Beach. https://t.co/GQljnBa2IX
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) January 17, 2019
Air traffic controllers working without pay are currently guiding what appears to be a plane carrying Melania Trump to Mar a Lago https://t.co/zID4DUexjP
— Sam Mintz (@samjmintz) January 17, 2019
So, Melania Trump can go to Mar-A-Lago, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can't go to a war zone to visit our troops because the lunatic got his feelings hurt over #SOTU postponement.
Like I said in an earlier tweet, this has backfired on #DonaldTrump big time. #TrumpShutdown pic.twitter.com/Becfrmezhl
— Janet Shan (@hinterlandg) January 17, 2019
WHY in hell is Melania Trump on a plane to Florida right now? It aint a commercial flight! It’s more important that Speaker Pelosi visit the troops. Such hypocrisy Sarah! U all look petty & dumb! Melania priorities aren’t more important than Pelosi! U all should be embarssed!
— La Shawn Simmons (@leolovelylady) January 17, 2019
so the Speaker can’t visit the troops but Melania Trump gets to fly to Florida... right https://t.co/xY68R6w9Sw
— Christie (@Christie_D22) January 17, 2019
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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
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