President Donald Trump’s journey to the airport on Sunday had a bit of a hiccup: the trunk of his heavily armored limo, aka “The Beast,” was open during the ride.
Trump was heading to Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach as he returned to Washington after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Photographers from several news agencies, including Getty, caught images of the unusual scene:
Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images
The Associated Press also snapped some pics of the president’s ride:
Manuel Balce Ceneta via Associated Press
While the car doesn’t normally travel with its trunk open, officials said it didn’t cause any problems.
“The open trunk had no impact on the motorcade movement, vehicle systems or equipment,” a Secret Service spokesperson told CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg, who reported the open trunk had no impact on security.
It’s not clear what, if anything, was in the trunk, and officials are tight-lipped about the vehicle, for obvious reasons. Autoweek reported in 2013 that the trunk contained:
“Extra weapons, a separate oxygen supply under the president’s seat and emergency medical equipment, including bottles of the president’s blood type in case the ambulance (one always travels in the motorcade) gets cut off.”
However, the vehicle has since been redesigned, and it’s not publicly known if that’s still the case for the trunk.
Former “Tonight Show” host and car enthusiast Jay Leno took a (slightly) closer look at The Beast during an episode of “Jay Leno’s Garage” in 2024, which is available on YouTube.