Trump Had No Clue a Dangerous Situation Was Unfolding — and By the Time It Reached Him, His Team Was Already Scrambling
Donald Trump’s motorcade wasn’t supposed to make headlines, but it did after the president arrived fashionably late — nearly an hour into the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks matchup — and a near-disaster may explain why.
Trump had just wrapped a weekend at Mar-a-Lago and was heading back to Washington for the game when photographers captured the unusual moment.
An image of his presidential vehicle, called the Beast, cruising toward Palm Beach International Airport with its trunk standing tall, landed online like a punchline waiting for an audience. The fully armored car, built to be sealed tighter than a vault, suddenly riding with its trunk upright, was enough to send the internet into instant overdrive.
And there was Trump in the back seat while the trunk stuck straight up as if he was signaling for help. He seemed not to notice, despite traveling for miles with it open.
Secret Service officials insisted the open trunk didn’t disrupt the motorcade or compromise security, but the visual had already escaped into the wild with a life of its own. By the time reporters shared it online, the jokes were coming in faster than the limo was moving.
Under CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins’ post showing the photo, users started crafting their own explanations. The caption read, “The trunk of the Beast was open as President Trump headed for the Palm Beach International Airport earlier.”
The trunk of the the Beast was open as President Trump headed for the Palm Beach International Airport earlier, via @Sam_Waldenberg pic.twitter.com/bMKLde1j5z
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 9, 2025
One person didn’t hesitate, asking, “How would they not know that?” A second person simply asked “Is this true and if so why would they leave the trunk open?” while another suspected the trunk was left open for a particular reason, adding, “I can guess why.”
Another asked, “Does he really stink so much that they have to ride around with the trunk open?” A fourth joked, “Was he in the trunk?”
Another echoed the sentiment in fewer words, writing, “They were airing the car out.”
A third commenter went full slapstick, joking, “He must have cut a monster fart and they had to air that thing out,” pairing it with a John Witherspoon restroom spray gif.
Hell, the interior chemical / detection alert system in that limo was probably like…
🚨 pic.twitter.com/mA65IQJdgp— Alexander D. Great One (@Gyptsea1962) November 10, 2025
A fourth user posted, “That there is an indication of just how bad trump smells.”
Those reactions didn’t appear out of thin air.
HAhAAHHAhAHAAhAHAHAH
— KissingTheCockroach® 💜💋🪳 (@cockroachkisser) November 10, 2025
Trump has been followed by stories about his funkiness long before this trunk had its moment. Joe Rogan once joked during an October 2024 taping that Trump might have been wearing an adult diaper. He later repeated the speculation after Trump returned to the Oval Office for a second term.
Kathy Griffin’s description of Donald Trump causes Mary Trump to cringe on her podcast…
“Donald has a distinct smell that doesn’t really get enough press.”#TrumpSmells pic.twitter.com/zsvzcytwdH
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) December 23, 2023
Former “never-Trump” Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger took the subject to another level, sharing his own experience long before this photo went viral.
He tweeted, “I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor. It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can.”
I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor.
It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@AdamKinzinger) December 16, 2023
Later, on the “MeidasTouch” podcast, he delivered a description that listeners still quote: “The best way to describe it is… take, like, armpits, ketchup, like, a butt, and kind of put it in a blender, and makeup… and you bottle that as a cologne — that’s kinda that.”
His words blended into the long line of anecdotes that made the open trunk feel less like a mechanical failure and more like instinct.
Still, once the laughter settled, the Secret Service laid out its official explanation.
According to the Daily Beast, spokesperson Matt Fagiana said the trunk of one motorcade vehicle “inadvertently opened and remained in the upright position” during the drive from Mar-a-Lago to the airport — a potentially dangerous mishap that could have sent debris flying into traffic or caused a serious accident if anyone behind the convoy hadn’t reacted in time.
The issue was mechanical, quickly identified, and repaired by technicians. No equipment was lost, nothing shifted inside the limo, and the four-mile trip was short enough that agents didn’t need to stop the motorcade. A black SUV trailing behind the limo signaled that agents noticed, but the vehicle kept moving as planned.
By the time Air Force One was ready to take the president home, the photo had already become a cultural artifact. It revived every comment about odor, every joke, every moment someone claimed standing near Trump required stamina. For many viewers, the open trunk told a story that didn’t need official statements or mechanical explanations.
