CNN Does Weird Exposé on Trump’s Busted Private Jet Sitting in Upstate New York

CNN engaged in a bit of apparent schadenfreude with a strange exposé on the current state of former President Donald Trump’s private jet, a Boeing 757 that’s just sitting on a tarmac.

The report contains a lot of details sure to fascinate and delight Trump opponents with nothing else to do, like the plane’s state of disrepair and idleness since Trump left office:

Trump’s personal Boeing 757 was always the crown jewel of his wealth — the ultimate sign that he had made it. He’s used it as a backdrop for sleek photo shoots, campaign rallies, VIP tours, for shots of him eating his Big Macs and KFC, plated, with a knife and fork. Trump loved to show it off — the customized cream-colored leather seats, gilded bathrooms, the seat buckles layered in 24-karat gold.

But today it sits idle on an airport ramp in Orange County, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan.

One engine is missing parts. The other is shrink-wrapped in plastic. The cost to fix and get it flyable could reach well into the high six-figures, a price-tag Trump doesn’t appear to be dealing with right now. Though the current state of his finances aren’t public, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the hospitality industry home to so many of his businesses.

Flight records accessed by CNN show the 757 hasn’t been flown at all since Inauguration Day, when Trump’s use of Air Force One ended, leaving him to less showy modes of transport.

There’s just one thing missing: anything that remotely constitutes news. Trump hasn’t flown the plane since Inauguration Day? Why would he? Aside from an appearance at CPAC, where has he gone, and without an entourage of press, why would he need a 757 to do that?

The 2,000-word-plus piece does use the news that Trump’s plane is sitting there as a peg to speculate about his finances, and to delve into Trump’s flamboyant status-seeking, so there’s that. But with a global pandemic still raging, multiple other crises including a wave of anti-Asian violence that came to a head this week, and huge legislative fights that could affect Americans’ lives for generations, who is this for? Who gives a crap about Trump’s plane?

These people need a hobby.

Watch CNN’s on-air report above.