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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: An F-16 fighter jet executed a “headbutt” maneuver to intercept a plane that breached the restricted airspace near Mar-a-Lago.
👥 Who’s Involved: The event involved the U.S. Air Force and the pilot of the intercepted aircraft.
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📍 Where & When: The incident occurred over Palm Beach, Florida, close to President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, last Friday.
💬 Key Quote: “The plane was safely escorted from the area,” according to the U.S. Air Force.
⚠️ Impact: No injuries or further incidents were reported after the plane was escorted out of the restricted airspace.
IN FULL:
An F-16 fighter jet intervened to redirect an aircraft that strayed into restricted airspace near President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The incident took place last Friday when the fighter jet performed a maneuver known colloquially as a “headbutt” to intercept the unidentified plane, which is described as a “general aviation aircraft”—a term used to describe civilian, non-military aircraft.
U.S. Air Force officials confirmed that “the plane was safely escorted from the area” following its interception. However, specifics about the airplane, its pilot, and the reason for its incursion into restricted airspace over Mar-a-Lago remain undisclosed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), which are enforced by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), over airspace where the President of the United States is present. On Friday, President Trump was playing a round of golf near his Mar-a-Lago residence at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Since Trump’s inauguration on January 21, 2025, there have been several incidents in which civilian aircraft have either entered or wandered concerningly close to the closed airspace over Mar-a-Lago. Notably, pilots are responsible for checking and being aware of any FAA-issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAMs) prior to takeoff and as they traverse American airspace.
None of the incidents above or near Mar-a-Lago have been found to be intentionally malicious in nature thus far.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: President Donald J. Trump wants a substantial increase to the Pentagon’s budget, raising it to $1 trillion.
👥 Who’s Involved: President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
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📍 Where & When: The announcement was made in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, on April 7, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “We have to build our military, and we’re very cost-conscious, but the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong because you’ve got a lot of bad forces out there now,” said Trump.
⚠️ Impact: This budget increase would be the largest in U.S. military history, reflecting a significant shift in defense spending priorities.
IN FULL:
President Donald J. Trump stated plans to approve an unprecedented increase in the U.S. military budget, elevating it to $1 trillion. This figure represents the most substantial military budget in the nation’s history. During an announcement in the Oval Office on April 7, 2025, Trump highlighted the necessity of enhancing military capabilities, citing rising global threats.
“We rebuilt the military during my first term, and we have great things happening with our military. We also essentially approved a budget which is in the vicinity… of a trillion dollars, $1 trillion. And nobody’s seen anything like it,” he told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We have to build our military, and we’re very cost-conscious, but the military is something we have to build, and we have to be strong because you have a lot of bad forces out there now. So we’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say actually the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military,” he continued, adding: “We’re cutting other things under DOGE. When you look at a woman getting $2 billion for environmental, and it had nothing to do with the environment, and they had $100 in the bank, and they gave her $2 billion, many, many of those cases.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised the budget announcement and thanked President Trump. “President [Trump] is rebuilding our military—and FAST,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), while emphasizing that the Pentagon will “spend every taxpayer dollar wisely—on lethality and readiness.”
The National Pulse understands that in recent weeks, Elon Musk lobbied for the halving this budget, in a move that caused consternation amongst top MAGA figures at the Pentagon, especially given the precarious global security situation as well as the efforts to secure locations such as the Panama Canal which requires convincing nations that America is investing and expanding its strength harder and faster than the Chinese Communist Party.
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English (US) ·