ABC News(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump’s pre-presidential air fleet — consisting of a Boeing 757, a small aircraft and a handful of choppers — has been easily recognizable for years, thanks to “TRUMP” being slapped on the exterior of these souped-up aeronautical machines.
Now, a group of North Carolina high school students taking part of in a national rocket design competition, have taken a cue from the president’s love of branding, and designed a rocket in honor of him for the Team America Rocketry Challenge, a competition being held in Northern Virginia.
Today, I welcomed the Victory Christian Center School. Good luck @ the Team America Rocketry Challenge! #TARC Watch: https://t.co/AgOi7aaG6t pic.twitter.com/zXBBhz7qcV
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017
Students from Victory Christian Center School in Charlotte, North Carolina, visited the White House Friday and brought their entry — a sleek-looking black rocket with “TRUMP” in gold letters — to the Oval Office. The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, was also present for the meet-and-greet.
“Guess what the name of the rocket is?” Trump said, addressing the press. “It’s called ‘Trump.’ It better work well! And to qualify [for the national competition] the ‘Trump’ needed to soar to an altitude of 775 feet with a flight duration of 41 to 43 seconds … And return without so much as breaking an egg shell ….. I want to congratulate you. That’s a fantastic achievement … It looks like a mean machine.”
Trump then asked the students why the rocket was named after him.
“Simply because it conquers all,” one student said.
“They’re never going to put that on television,” Trump said, referring to the press, which he claims does not often report positively about his presidency.
Great to meet these awesome students from Victory Christian Center School competing in TARC 2017 with their rocket "The Trump." pic.twitter.com/uzX7cmc371
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 12, 2017
Ivanka Trump posted a photo of the visit on her social media accounts. “Great to meet these awesome students from Victory Christian Center School’s Rocket Team, representing the Charlotte, NC region in this year’s Team America Rocketry Challenge with their rocket “The Trump,” the first daughter wrote on Instagram. “These incredible students are the future of our country’s aerospace and defense industries! #STEM”
The president told the students to come back to the White House for a celebration if they win.
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