MORRISVILLE, North Carolina — The presidential campaign airplanes for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump docked at nearly the same time at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Thursday evening, surprising crews and passengers on both aircraft.
The two candidates did not physically meet, but their motorcades faced each other on the tarmac.
Clinton’s plane, emblazoned with her “Stronger Together” slogan, arrived first and parked near the Signature Flight Services facility.
Trump’s press plane, with the “Make America Great Again” slogan pained along the fuselage, arrived next, followed by Trump’s own plane. Both were brought to a stop on the adjacent side of the Signature facility.
Hillary Clinton’s motorcade left first. It consisted of several police motorcycles and cars, several SUVs, several vans, and several full-size buses. Donald Trump’s motorcade — significantly smaller, with police vehicles, several SUVs, and two small buses — paused to allow them to pass.
Members of the traveling press, amused, took video and photographs.
Clinton headed to a rally in Raleigh, where she was to appear with her former rival from the Democratic primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with entertainer Pharell Williams. Trump headed to a rally in Selma. It was the second North Carolina rally of the day for both candidates.
The race in the Tar Heel State is essentially tied, with Trump holding a slim 0.2% lead in the RealClearPolitics poll average. Barack Obama won the state in 2008 — the only time it had been own by a Democrat since 1976 — but Mitt Romney won it in 2012.
North Carolina has 15 Electoral College votes, making it one of the most important swing states in the 2016 presidential election.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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