(This story was updated to include new information.)
MIAMI — President Donald Trump arrived at Miami International Airport on Thursday afternoon, April 3, at 4:45 p.m. aboard Air Force One, but an apparent tire issue with his presidential helicopter forced him to switch choppers on the tarmac taxiing to and from runways.
The president boarded a helicopter, known as Marine One when the commander-in-chief is aboard, for the short ride to his Doral golf club. He scheduled to speak at the resort, which is hosting a LIV tournament, on Thursday evening.
However, just before take-off, a “wheel issue” was discovered. The president was escorted to a second helicopter on the airport tarmac. His helicopter and a second one then took off for Doral just before 5:30 p.m.
The wheel issue appeared to be the back tire of the helicopter, which appeared flat. The three presidential helicopters had arrived at the airport about a half hour before Air Force One.
Markets plummet as Trump leaves D.C., heads to Doral golf event
Trump departed Washington as the political capital as well as the global financial hub in New York were upended by Trump's stunning tariff bombshell on Wednesday. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Trump unveiled across-the-board duties aimed at no less than replacing the open trade, global commercial system in place since World War II with one modeled after 19th Century Gilded Age economics.
Leaving the White House, Trump said the "markets are going to boom." But the reverberation on Thursday was costly to the nation's investment portfolios, retirement accounts and 401K savings as Wall Street did not react favorably. The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted almost 4%, 1,679.39, to close at 40,545.93. The Dow is down more than 4,000 points in the past two months.
On Thursday evening, Trump was to attend a dinner hosted by the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament at Trump National in western Miami-Dade County. His travel to South Florida, rather than presiding over the dignified transfer of the bodies of four U.S. Army soldiers who died on a training mission in Lithuania, drew criticism.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday evening, arriving by about 10 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, Trump is expected to travel to his Jupiter golf course for the first time in his second presidency. While the White House hasn't said why Trump will travel to his Jupiter course, the club's senior championship,in which Trump has been known to compete, runs Friday through Sunday.
Also, Trump National in Jupiter on Saturday night will host the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association's 17th annual Police Officer's Ball, according to an invitation for that event.
Trump is expected to spend part of Saturday and Sunday at Trump National Golf Club inJupiter, according to a notice of temporary flight restrictions issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to restrictions from the FAA, Trump likely will leave Palm Beach for Washington about 9 p.m. Sunday.
This would be Trump's eighth weekend in Palm Beach County since his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Palm Beach Daily News reporter Kristina Webb contributed to this report.
