Trump switches helicopter while leaving UK due to ‘minor hydraulic issue’

LONDON: US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to the UK on Thursday (local time). Trump, along with his wife and First Lady Melania Trump, was forced to switch to a support helicopter while leaving London due to a “minor hydraulic issue,” CNN reported, citing White House.

The helicopter from which Donald Trump and Melania Trump were travelling experienced a hydraulic issue and was forced to land at a local airfield, White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced.

The incident forced the US President and the First Lady to switch to a support helicopter and caused a delay in their arrival at Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom, CNN reported.

“Due to a minor hydraulic issue, and out of an abundance of caution, the pilots landed at a local airfield before reaching Stansted airport. The president and first lady safely boarded the support helicopter,” Leavitt said in a statement to the press pool, which is travelling with the president.

Trump concluded his visit to the UK on Thursday. He held a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. During the conference, Trump highlighted his close relationship with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, emphasising their personal connection and recent birthday wishes

Speaking at the press conference, he highlighted how he had greeted PM Modi on his birthday and highlighted the good ties between New Delhi and Washington.

Trump said, “I’m very close to India. I’m very close to the Prime Minister of India. Spoke to him the other day, wished him a happy birthday. We have a very good relationship. He put out a beautiful statement, too…But I said, I sanctioned them.”

Trump also spoke on several issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “let me down” for not stopping the war with Ukraine.

“He has let me down. I mean, he’s killing many people and he’s losing more people than he’s, you know, than he’s killing. I mean, frankly, Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers,” Trump said.

Trump confessed that even though he thought that the Russia-Ukraine war would be the “easiest” one to solve, it was not the case.

Further, he insisted that the war in Ukraine would not have begun if he had remained in the White House. “This was a thing that would have never happened had I been president. If I were president, it would have never happened. And it didn’t happen for four years,” Trump asserted. “Most people agree it didn’t happen, nor was it close to happening.” (ANI)