U.S. Politics · White House · 12 outlets (L 3 · C 3 · R 6)
Trump and Melania host White House Halloween with Air Force One flyover
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump hosted the White House's annual Halloween celebration on the South Lawn on Thursday, welcoming trick-or-treaters and handing out candy.[5, 7, 8 +1] IJR and the New York Post reported 6,000 people attended; PBS NewsHour described hundreds of costumed kids outside the residence.[5, 7, 8] The event included military, law-enforcement, foster and adoptive families, per IJR.[7]
Air Force One flew low over the White House, and over Washington, during the event; the Washington Examiner reported two passes.[3, 4, 13] The Trump administration called it "An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!" in a post on X, Mediaite reported.[4]
The Daily Beast reported the plane came close to buildings and monuments in the capital, and AlterNet reported the flyover terrified people who were in Washington during the Sept. 11 attacks.[1, 3] The Hill reported the event came hours after Trump returned from South Carolina, where he rallied support for Republicans ahead of next week's midterm elections.[6]
Covered by AlterNet, PBS NewsHour, New York Post and 9 more
Read first WATCH: Trumps host Halloween celebration at the White House
Where accounts differ (1)
- FramingThe Trump administration's post called the flyover "An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!", while The Daily Beast called it an "alarmingly low flyover" that "backfired spectacularly" and AlterNet reported it "terrified" Sept. 11 survivors.[1, 3, 4]
- Mediaite · Center · Oct 29, 10:59 p.m. ET Air Force One Flies Wildly Close to White House in Shocking Video
“An epic Air Force One flyover at the White House for the trick-or-treaters!” the Trump administration wrote on X. The post Air Force One Flies Wildly Close to White House in Shocking Video first appeared on Mediaite .
- The Daily Beast · Leans left · Oct 30, 5:30 a.m. ET Trump’s Ghastly Halloween Surprise Backfires Spectacularly
Umit Bektas / REUTERS A bizarre stunt where a U.S. military aircraft conducted an alarmingly low flyover of D.C. for Donald Trump’s Halloween party has backfired spectacularly. The plane, which becomes Air Force One…
- Mediaite · Center · Oct 29, 10:59 p.m. ET Air Force One Flies Wildly Close to White House in Shocking Video
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 12 rated outlets that covered it, 3 are left of center, 3 are center and 6 are right of center (4 of them in the Right group).
- Left: none.
- Leans left: AlterNet (−1.16), Raw Story (−0.94), The Daily Beast (−0.64).
- Center: PBS NewsHour (−0.48), Mediaite (+0.04), The Hill (+0.10).
- Leans right: New York Post (+0.64), The National Interest (+0.72).
- Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Washington Examiner (+1.34), IJR (+1.52), One America News Network (+2.69).
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.