A clip circulating on social media shows President Donald Trump stopping to wave and salute on his way to Marine One on Monday, and a wider shot of the helipad shows no one visible in the direction he waved.
Trump was heading to a Kansas rally for Sen. Roger Marshall. About 21 seconds in, the camera pulls back, and aides approach the helicopter from a different direction.
A still shows a uniformed service member by the helicopter’s open door, and presidents traditionally answer salutes from troops at their aircraft, but nothing establishes that Trump was greeting that person. One report claimed he waved at staff and technicians who helped with his departure and that others stood in the area when the camera widened.
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Three days earlier, video from his October 16 departure after a rally in Dalton, Georgia, drew online claims that he walked past his car and had to be steered back. One report said Secret Service agents moved around him and redirected him toward the vehicle and called him disoriented.
In 2020, a clip of Joe Biden waving after stepping off a plane in Tampa drew claims that he waved at an empty field. An Associated Press reporter with him said he waved at firefighters and other personnel outside the frame, and PolitiFact rated the claim false.
Trump, who turned 80 in June, became the oldest person inaugurated as president in January 2025, at 78. Biden, who left office at 82, remains the oldest president to serve, and Trump would pass him in August 2028 if he finishes his term.
