Trump’s Ghastly Halloween Surprise Backfires Spectacularly – The Daily Beast

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Citizens of D.C. said they were scared by the incident.
A bizarre stunt where a U.S. military aircraft conducted an alarmingly low flyover of D.C. for Donald Trump’s Halloween party has backfired spectacularly.
The giant Boeing 747 gifted to the president by Qatar, which becomes Air Force One when a president is on board, flew over Washington on Thursday evening, coming close to buildings and monuments in the capital.
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The D.C. Council, the district’s 13-member legislature, posted a video of the stunt on social media, saying that people in downtown D.C., at the Pentagon, and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were given only 15 minutes’ advance notice of the flyover.
Council of D.C. post footage of a military plane flying over Washington.
Council of D.C.
They said the low-flying plane startled many D.C. residents, including its own officials.
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While flying over D.C., the aircraft’s altitude was between about 400 feet and about 1,000 feet, according to flight tracking data cited by The Washington Post.
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The plane flew over the White House twice, according to that data.
Commenters on the Post article said the low flyover had left people worrying about a 9/11-style attack on the capital.
Briana Charles
Trump has displayed a deep affection for flyovers, with helicopters and other aircraft buzzing over D.C. in June as part of a military parade for the nation’s 250th birthday. An aircraft used as Air Force One also took part in a flyover as part of a July 4 celebration during Trump’s first term in 2019.
The Halloween display Thursday came as Trump axed campaign rallies ahead of next week’s midterm elections. The president is instead holding virtual campaign events after his in-person rallies were repeatedly disrupted by protesters and hecklers.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 X account gleefully hailed the Halloween flyover as “An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!”
A video posted by the Rapid Response account showed Donald and Melania Trump outside the White House waving at the aircraft, while a cheesy version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” played.
Not everyone was as thrilled with the stunt. “A large jet aircraft just flew over downtown Washington DC (Mass Ave at 15th St NW) at extremely low altitude (maybe 250 feet),” one X user wrote. “What’s going on?”
After being told it was a flyover, the person said it was “a scare.” They added, “It was unexpected, and the altitude and direction made it look like the aircraft was going into the buildings. Glad it was just a flyby!”
Another shared their own photos of the plane flying close to buildings, saying, “It was Trump, Trumping.”
President Donald Trump points toward the presidential aircraft as it flies past during a Halloween event at the White House.
Eric Lee/REUTERS
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet, and Katie Miller at the event—a White House pool report noted that the two families were “first in line” when President Trump and first lady Melania started handing out candy.
Eric Lee/Reuters
Another wrote on X, “I’m probably being that person, but that flyover in DC right now was very scary. Essentially no heads up that it would be happening and it sounded like a regular commercial plane. I don’t mind jets but I actually thought a plane was going to crash.”
One user posted a video of the plane, a military version of the Boeing 747, looking like it was going to hit a building with the caption “This s— is crazy.”
The presidential aircraft flies over as US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump host a Halloween event at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 29, 2026.
Umit Bektas/REUTERS
A different X user wrote that she had “a mini heart attack along with everyone else on the street.”
Christopher Buchanan
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told the Post that the flyover had been coordinated with the agency and there was a brief ground stop at National to accommodate it.
The Post pointed out Washington’s airspace is more restricted than any other part of the United States, making the sight of a plane flying low alarming for some residents.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the FCC for comment.
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