Trump's trip to GOP soiree in Texas is briefly delayed after Air Force One's emergency slide deploys

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump had been eagerly awaiting his trip to Texas for his Republican Party's midterm convention. But he was briefly delayed by the deployment of an inflatable emergency slide on the new Air Force One plane that was a gift from Qatar.

Trump arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland aboard Marine One on Wednesday afternoon for the scheduled trip to Dallas but was kept on the helicopter for about 20 minutes as U.S. Air Force personnel attended to the plane. The emergency slide had deployed from the front right exit, on the opposite side of the door Trump uses to board.

As Trump arrived at the base, reporters accompanying him to Texas watched the former baby blue and white plane that had flown presidents for decades taxi from the hangar and stop a few hundred yards behind the gifted aircraft, which Trump had refurbished at taxpayer expense and painted red, white, dark blue and gold.

Eventually, Trump emerged from the helicopter and said the slide was being tested. Asked why, he said, "They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”

It was not immediately clear whether the slide was intentionally inflated during testing or whether an error caused it to inflate. But Trump said he was not worried. Asked whether he was satisfied that the plane was safe to fly, he said, “Yeah, I am — or I wouldn't be on it.”

White House communications director Steven Cheung issued a statement that did not fully explain how the slide was deployed, and the U.S. Air Force did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

“As the President has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly,” Cheung said. “Air Force One is on its way to Dallas so he can deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd.”

Trump boarded as the crew continued work to deflate, detach and cart away the slide. The plane then took off and landed safely in Dallas a few hours later.

In July, as Trump prepared to head back to the United States from a NATO summit in Turkey, he secretly flew out on a third U.S. Air Force plane after the Qatari jet was flown — without him aboard — to a military base in the United Kingdom. The older version of Air Force One was used as a decoy and carried White House and administration staff, and reporters to the base.

After he arrived in the U.K, Trump got off the third plane and secretly boarded the decoy only to disembark with staff and reporters as if he had flown with them. The group then boarded the newer Air Force One for the flight to Joint Base Andrews.

Trump said several weeks later that the U.S. Secret Service and the military wanted him to travel on a “different plane” due to a threat.

Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporter Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One after an emergency inflatable slide deployed before he arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump talks with reporters after an emergency inflatable slide deployed on Air Force One before before Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S. Air Force personnel work after an emergency inflatable slide deployed on Air Force One before President Donald Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S> Air Force personnel work after an emergency inflatable slide deployed before President Donald Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S, Air Force personnel work after an emergency inflatable slide deployed before President Donald Trump arrived to board at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right thumb, manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday.

Chisholm, who had been in the midst of his best stretch this season, will be shut down for seven to 10 days and is expected to go on the IL Thursday. New York has 18 games left.

“We just got an update that he does have a sprained right thumb that’s going to require an IL stint,” Boone said before the Yankees faced the Rockies. “So no baseball activities for the next seven to 10 days and then see where we’re at.”

Chisholm was injured on a slide at second base trying to stretch a single in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 5-3 win. He was tagged out by Ezequiel Tovar, and his thumb appeared to hit the Colorado shortstop’s cleat.

Chisholm initially stayed in when the Yankees took the field for the ninth but was lifted after he made a poor throw while fielding a grounder.

Eligible for free agency after this season, Chisholm is hitting .232 with 19 homers and 55 RBIs in 134 games. He also has 40 stolen bases in 49 attempts, becoming the first Yankee with 40 steals since Brett Gardner had 49 in 2011.

Chisholm had two hits Tuesday and is hitting .391 (18 for 46) with two homers and six RBIs over his past 15 games.

“I feel like he has been really putting together some of his best at-bats of the season for an extended stretch,” Boone said. “So definitely a blow, but hopefully one that the time down here hopefully gets this thing right and puts us in position to impact us moving forward.”

Chisholm will be the fourth Yankee to go on the IL since Aug. 23, joining pitchers Ryan Weathers (strained left forearm), Fernando Cruz (right elbow) and Trent Grisham (right hamstring strain). Chisholm also will be the 18th player to land on the IL for the AL wild-card leaders, who activated Aaron Judge on Tuesday after an 84-game absence with a broken rib.

Chisholm has spent time on the IL in each season since being acquired from the Marlins in July 2024. He missed a little over a month last season with a strained right oblique and missed nearly two weeks with a sprained left elbow sustained on a headfirst slide in 2024.

José Caballero started at second base on Wednesday.

Anthony Volpe is expected to replace Chisholm on the roster Thursday.

Volpe has played 19 games at second base for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and earned International League Player of the Week honors for hitting .524 with three homers and six RBIs in his last six games. He was scratched from the Triple-A lineup Wednesday.

Since being sent down to Triple-A on Aug. 4, Volpe is batting .295 with 10 homers and 21 RBIs in 27 games while playing shortstop and third base.

Volpe batted .240 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 56 games before the Yankees replaced him at shortstop with rookie George Lombard Jr.

“I feel like he’s in a really good spot,” Boone said about Volpe. “He’s been really productive down there and playing really well. He has taken well to the other positions. So we’ll see.”

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New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. throws out Colorado Rockies Cole Carrigg during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)