--- title: Hillary Clinton: Air Force One Cost Question Raised description: President Obama's decision to campaign for Hillary Clinton in North Carolina Tuesday raised a perennial question: Who pays for the trip? canonical: https://time.com/4393917/hillary-clinton-air-force-one-cost/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-05T21:25:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:39:52.633Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama's Stumping Raises Questions About Air Force One Cost og:description: Donald Trump complained. og:url: https://time.com/4393917/hillary-clinton-air-force-one-cost/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9132dd9ec083b8ec/69889abf5f570f0890b219a0/hillary-clinton-air-force-one.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton walks off of Air Force One with U.S. president Barack Obama on July 5, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama's Stumping Raises Questions About Air Force One Cost twitter:description: Donald Trump complained. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9132dd9ec083b8ec/69889abf5f570f0890b219a0/hillary-clinton-air-force-one.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:05 video:published: 2016-07-05 section: politics topics: presidential endorsement, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, diplomacy, 2016 presidential campaign, North Carolina rally genre: speech, endorsement tones: supportive, confident, laudatory emotions: pride (medium), confidence (high), enthusiasm (medium) sentiment: positive audience: voters, Democratic supporters, political news readers people: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton organizations: Democratic Party transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # President Obama's Stumping Raises Questions About Air Force One Cost > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=770a9a94-d791-4482-80ff-89b029be4d02&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Endorses Hillary Clinton for President [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Endorses Hillary Clinton for President](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IDJkD9Fk.m3u8) (1:05)  _Published 2016-07-05. President Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton praised one another at a rally in Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday, the first time he’s hit the stump with his one-time rival and former Secretary of State during her campaign._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Obama appears at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina to endorse Hillary Clinton for president. He praises her qualifications and judgment, citing her diplomacy and her record as Secretary of State. He says he knows she can do the job and urges the audience to help elect her. ## Key points - Obama says he believes in Hillary Clinton and asks the audience to help elect her as the next president. (00:00) - Obama states there has never been a man or woman more qualified for the office than Hillary Clinton. (00:14) - Obama says he has had a front row seat to Clinton's judgment, toughness, and commitment to diplomacy. (00:27) - Obama calls Clinton a great Secretary of State and says this view was held by the American people and pundits during her tenure. (00:37) - Obama says the endorsement is not only his opinion but the view of the American people and pundits. (00:42) - Obama says he knows Clinton can do the job and says he is proud North Carolina will endorse her. (00:52) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:52] Obama's endorsement and praise of Clinton. Obama declares his belief in Clinton, praises her qualifications, and cites her record as Secretary of State. - [00:52 to 01:05] Closing endorsement at the rally. Obama says he knows Clinton can do the job and expresses pride in North Carolina's endorsement. ## Key quotes - [00:14] Barack Obama: "There has never been any man or woman More qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton." - [00:27] Barack Obama: "My faith in Hillary Clinton has always been rewarded." - [00:37] Barack Obama: "The bottom line is she was a great Secretary of State." - [00:52] Barack Obama: "The bottom line is I know Hillary can do the job." ## Questions this video answers - Why does Obama believe in Hillary Clinton? [00:00] - How does Obama assess Clinton's qualifications for president? [00:14] - How does Obama describe Clinton's performance as Secretary of State? [00:37] - What does Obama ask the audience to do? [00:07] by [Zeke J Miller / Charlotte, N.C.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Charlotte, N.C. Jul 5, 2016 9:25 PM UTC President Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton praised one another at a rally in Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday, the first time he’s hit the stump with his one-time rival and former Secretary of State during her campaign. by [Zeke J Miller / Charlotte, N.C.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Charlotte, N.C. Jul 5, 2016 9:25 PM UTC President Obama’s decision to campaign for Hillary Clinton in North Carolina Tuesday raised a perennial question: Who pays for the trip? Typically, the American taxpayers pick up much of the bill, but federal law requires that the Clinton campaign or the Democratic National Committee share some of the cost. “The White House of course follows all of the rules and regulations that apply to presidential travel,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. A Clinton campaign official said, “As is the standard practice, the campaign will cover its portion of the costs.” Air Force One costs more than $220,000 to operate, according to the Air Force, accounting for fuel and maintenance costs for the aircraft. That does not include the cost of the president’s Marine One flight to Joint Base Andrews, the cost of airlifting the vehicles in the president’s motorcade on several military cargo aircraft from Andrews to the event site, or personnel costs. The Democratic National Committee maintains an escrow account for the purpose of reimbursing the Air Force for the political portion of Air Force One flights, but determining just how much it costs isn’t that simple. Months after a political trip the White House Counsel’s office makes determinations on just how political the trip is. (Presidents tend to schedule “official” events around fundraisers to help defray the political cost.) They then forward the bill onto the relevant political committee—often the DNC—which reimburses the Air Force. But neither the White House nor the Air Force share those invoices, or an account of how much is reimbursed for a specific trip, making it impossible to see the outcome of those determinations. Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One that Tuesday’s trip was entirely political. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump complained about the arrangement on Tuesday. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/750286846534582272) ## Transcript [00:00] I'm here today. [ APPLAUSE ] Because I believe [00:05] in Hillary Clinton. [ APPLAUSE ] And I want you to help [00:07] elect her to be the next [00:12] president of the United States of America. There has [00:14] never been any man [00:19] or woman More qualified for this office than Hillary [00:23] Clinton. My faith [00:27] in Hillary Clinton has always been rewarded. I have [00:31] had a front row seat to her judgment, and her [00:35] toughness, and her committment to diplomacy. The [00:37] bottom line is she was a great Secretary of State. And [00:42] by the way that's not my opinion, that was the [00:46] view of the American people and pundits throughout [00:49] the time she was serving as Secretary of State. The [00:52] bottom line is I know Hillary can do the job. And [00:57] that's why I am so proud North Carolina To endorse [01:01] Hillary Clinton as the next president of The United [01:02] States. 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