On Aug. 9, former President Donald Trump traveled to Montana for a rally intended to drum up support for the Republican candidate for Senate, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who is running against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
But Trump’s plane, which was en route to Bozeman, Montana, was diverted to Billings, about 142 miles to the east. Trump later continued to Bozeman via private jet.
After the plane was diverted, viral social media posts claimed that Trump couldn’t land his plane in Bozeman because he owed the airport and city money.
“Bozeman officials were preparing to seize Trump's plane as collateral for the money he owes the city and didn’t pay for previous rallies. So he flew into Billings,” one post with over 432,000 views said.
Multiple VERIFY readers, including Aileen and Robin, messaged us to ask whether these claims are true.
THE QUESTION
Was Trump’s plane diverted because he owes the Bozeman, Montana, airport money?
THE SOURCES
- Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport
- Brian Sprenger, president and CEO of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport
- City of Bozeman spokesperson
- Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer
- Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan and nonprofit investigative journalism organization
THE ANSWER
No, Trump’s plane wasn’t diverted because he owes the Bozeman, Montana, airport money.
WHAT WE FOUND
Former President Donald Trump’s plane was redirected to an airport in Billings, Montana, instead of Bozeman on Friday, Aug. 9 due to a mechanical issue, according to Billings Logan International Airport officials – not because of unpaid bills.
Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, which is actually located in Belgrade, Montana, addressed the false claims in an Aug. 11 statement.
“We are aware of the false information circulating that Former President Trump’s plane was forced to land in Billings due to unpaid bills. There are no outstanding bills owed [to] BZN by either Former President Trump or his campaign. The aircraft diverted due to mechanical reasons,” Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport said.
Brian Sprenger, president and CEO of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, said in an email that “it appears this began as satire and then went viral” and shared an article published by Lead Stories, a fact-checking website that debunked the claim.
VERIFY found that the X user who initially claimed Trump owed the city of Bozeman money for previous rallies said in a follow-up post that their original post was just a joke.
“This is a joke. Although it is true that Trump has stiffed a couple of Montana cities,” the post said. The X user’s account appears to be depicting an elected official in Washington state who does not actually exist.
In 2018, Trump held four campaign rallies in Montana. This includes a rally the former president held at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on Nov. 3, 2018.
A 2019 Center for Public Integrity investigation found that the Gallatin Airport Authority, which maintains and operates the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, sent the Trump campaign a $17,355 invoice for labor, construction and rental costs related to the rally.
Trump paid the outstanding balance three months after its due date, on April 1, 2019, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
VERIFY reached out to Gallatin County officials and they said the Trump campaign does not have any outstanding bills. Bozeman is the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana.
“Gallatin County has a proud history of hosting high-profile visits, including those by President Obama, Vice President Biden, President Trump and Vice President Pence,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said.
“Neither the campaigns nor the federal government pay for any of the services — local first responders provide for these visits. However, we have built-in contingencies in our budgets for events just like this,” Springer explained.
A City of Bozeman spokesperson also confirmed that the Trump campaign does not owe them money.
The 2019 Center for Public Integrity investigation also found that the Trump campaign may owe at least 10 cities hundreds of thousands of dollars. VERIFY reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but we did not hear back by the time of publication.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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