Trump unveils a new presidential airplane
By Kevin Liptak, CNN
(CNN) — The wood paneling on the new presidential aircraft is the highest quality, President Donald Trump says. The flag on the tail is waving just right. The colors, no longer robin’s egg-blue, are a “much better” and “more appropriate look.”
Unveiling “the world’s most luxurious plane,” as he called it at Joint Base Andrews on Friday, Trump appeared relieved to finally have an airplane that matches his own proclivities.
“Everything was designed good. It was my taste, I will say,” he told a crowd of airmen, who watched him descend from the new aircraft — donated by the government of Qatar — on red-carpeted stairs after taking a tour. “I like the color of the American flag, right? That makes sense.”
So begins a new era of presidential air travel.
The luxury jet is intended to bridge the gap between the two aging modified Boeing 747-200s, which have flown as Air Force One since 1990, and two new planes Boeing is retrofitting that won’t be done for roughly two more years.
The delays in producing the new planes had frustrated Trump, particularly when he heard they may not be completed by the time his term ends in 2029.
Enter Qatar, who donated the new jet to the Pentagon last year. The White House brushed aside ethical, legal and national security questions about accepting a gift worth $400 million from a foreign country. The Air Force has been working ever since to prepare it for Trump’s use.
Gone is the light blue color scheme first conceived by Jacqueline Kennedy and used on the presidential plane ever since.
“We like the baby blue, but it was time for a change,” Trump said.
In its place is a navy blue and white fuselage, cut through with red stripes. Old Glory on the tail is a little looser than before.
“We put the wave in it,” Trump explained. “We’ve always gone with a straight little noodle, and I never loved that.”
The changes, perhaps not coincidentally, make the new plane look very similar to the personal jet Trump has used for years.
The Air Force said its focus since acquiring the jet was on “mission over aesthetics,” which left “much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed.”
Trump appeared pleased with how the Qataris left it. He praised the quality of the paneling. Reporters who took a tour found leather seats that recline flat. The walls and carpets are tan and the light fixtures gold.
There was one modification: seatbelts affixed with the presidential seal.
The Air Force has said previously the cost for the modifications would come in under $400 million.
So what of the old planes, the two 35-year-old workhorses that flew two George Bushes, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden millions of miles around the globe?
“We’ll get them fixed up a little bit, not like this one, and we’ll do museums,” Trump said. “They’re great planes, they’re great history.”
The Air Force said Friday the new plane would begin “commissioning flights” soon. Those are intended as a “final exam” for the aircraft modification, according to a statement from the Air Force.
Trump hopes to fly the new plane to Mount Rushmore ahead of July 4, the nation’s 250th birthday. On Independence Day itself, he said he wants to see it flying over the US Capitol.
Would another president spend his time on a new plane? Trump said probably not.
“A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” he said, “but our country has to be represented properly.”
The-CNN-Wire
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