President Donald Trump was in Denton, Texas, on Thursday afternoon to tour the Peterbilt Motors factory and deliver remarks about manufacturing and his economic agenda, according to live coverage of the visit. He was then scheduled to attend a campaign rally in Durant, Oklahoma, in support of Republican candidates on the state's November third ballot.
According to a post from the account @GuntherEagleman, the weather grounded the planes, so the president is driving to Oklahoma in the Beast, the presidential limousine. The post says his team wanted him to postpone the event, and he told them there was no way he was letting Oklahoma down.
That post was timestamped shortly after midnight on October second. It spread through conservative accounts online, where supporters repeated the claim and praised the president for what they described as his commitment to the state. The account @GuntherEagleman did not cite a source for the claim about the conversation with his team.
The post was amplified as the visit drew closer. Live updates from news organizations tracking the trip noted that the president was traveling to Texas and then Oklahoma. One update, posted about four hours before this writing, described him touring the Peterbilt Motors factory in Denton and delivering remarks on manufacturing and the economy before heading to the rally in Durant. Another, posted about eleven hours earlier, noted that he would be in Oklahoma on Thursday making a push for Republican voters ahead of the midterm elections.
Coverage also noted a severe weather risk in the region. A live blog headlined "Trump headed to Oklahoma today amid severe weather risk" described the rally as widely anticipated. A separate report from News9.com said field crews were on the ground in Durant for the rally, which the outlet described as intended to inspire support for Republican candidates on Oklahoma's November third ballot.
The claim that the weather grounded the planes and that the president chose to drive rather than postpone has not been confirmed by any official source. It appears in the @GuntherEagleman post and in the responses to it. The post does not say which planes were grounded, where the president was when the decision was made, or when the drive was expected to take place. It also does not name the members of the team who, it says, wanted him to postpone.
What is documented is the schedule. The president was in Texas on Thursday afternoon for the factory tour and remarks, and he was set to attend the rally in Durant, Oklahoma, later in the day. The midterm elections are almost here, and the visit is part of a push for Republican voters in the state.
Supporters who carried the post framed it as an example of the president keeping a commitment to his supporters. The account @GuntherEagleman wrote that most politicians would have canceled, and that the president refused to let Oklahoma down. That framing was repeated by other accounts as the story circulated.
The underlying claim remains unverified. Next News Network could not independently confirm that the weather grounded the planes or that the president chose to drive to Oklahoma rather than postpone the event. The post from @GuntherEagleman is a social media post, not a report from a news organization, and it does not identify a source for its account of the conversation with the president's team.
The rally in Durant is scheduled for Thursday. The president's visit to Texas and Oklahoma comes as the midterm elections approach, with Republican candidates on the ballot in Oklahoma on November third. Field crews from local outlets were in Durant ahead of the event.
It is not yet known whether the president traveled to Oklahoma by vehicle. It is not yet known what the weather conditions were at the time the planes were reportedly grounded, or which aircraft were affected. It is not yet known whether the event was ever considered for postponement.
The story spread through accounts that shared the @GuntherEagleman post and added their own reactions. The posts did not include engagement figures in this report, and the account's claim stands as the account's claim.
The president's remarks at the Peterbilt Motors factory focused on manufacturing and his economic agenda, according to the live updates. He then was set to deliver remarks at the rally in Durant.
Next News Network could not independently verify the claim that the weather grounded the planes or that the president chose to drive to Oklahoma. The claim is being reported as what is being alleged by the account @GuntherEagleman and by those repeating it.
Our Take
The claim that President Trump drove to Oklahoma after weather grounded his plane is being carried by supporters who see it as evidence of his commitment to the state. That may be true. But the claim comes from a social media post, not from a news organization, and it has not been confirmed by any official source. The president was in Texas on Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to be in Oklahoma later in the day. Whether he made the trip by vehicle, and whether his team urged him to postpone, is not yet known. We report the claim as a claim, and we note that it remains unverified. The reaction is real. The underlying fact is not yet confirmed.
