Does a video genuinely show former President Donald Trump's plane, Trump Force One, doing a high-speed pass over an airport after the first debate in the 2024 campaign in June 2024, as a post on TikTok claimed? No, that's not true: The video's creator confirmed to Lead Stories that it was "created with flight simulator software." Two commercial airline pilots also told Lead Stories that the footage was fake. Furthermore, the video shows a Boeing 737, not Trump's 757.
A version of the claim originated in a video shared to X on June 30, 2024 (archived here), with a caption that read:
Trump Force One conducts a low-altitude, high-speed pass over near Washington DC after winning the debate.
Badassed.
Below is how the post appeared at the time of this publication:
(Source: X screenshot taken Mon July 1 17:22:24 UTC 2024)
Located in the bottom right portion of the video above is the TikTok handle @iceman_fox1. Lead Stories traced the clip above to a video posted to that user's profile on June 30, 2024 (archived here) with a caption that read:
Donald Trump's private plane conducts an authorized low altitude, high speed pass over an airport near Washington D.C. after his winning his debate
#trump #usa #trumpforceone #president #biden #election #debate #military #potus #itsnotrealfolksalldigital
As is shown above, one of the hashtags explicitly read: "#itsnotrealfolksalldigital."
Joseph Sloan, who published the clip, confirmed to Lead Stories in an email received on July 1, 2024, that the video was "created with flight simulator software."
The TikTok account is self-described in its bio line (archived here) as "mixed reality" with the content being "filmed with Digital Combat Simulator" (archived here). This free program provides "realistic simulation of military aircraft, tanks, ground vehicles, navy ships, world war two vehicles, trains and ships."
Lukas Smith, a commercial pilot, told Lead Stories that this footage is fake based on the graphics -- such as the pixelated resolution of the buildings and the plane's lack of shadow.
Richard Levy (archived here), an aviation consultant and former commercial and military pilot, also confirmed that this footage is fake.
Writing in an email received on July 1, 2024, Levy added that the plane shown in the footage is a Boeing 737 while Trump's plane, Trump Force One, is a Boeing 757-200 series, according to its Federal Aviation Administration registration (archived here).
Although legal and permissible with explicit clearance from the FAA Control Tower, such a low pass would be "very unlikely" and "risky," according to Levy.
A comparison of Trump's private plane (left, below, archived here) and the aircraft shown in the video on TikTok (right) shows that the edited version has an American flag on the rear stabilizer rather than the "T":
(Screenshot: Lead Stories screenshot compilation, Tomás Del Coro and TikTok/@iceman_fox1)
