WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President on Wednesday took on 鈥� a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.
Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump鈥檚 preferred color scheme: a navy-blue belly with red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief鈥檚 entourage should have 鈥� plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.
Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. 鈥淵ou can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,鈥� he said.
The retrofitted Qatari jet is intended to serve as a 鈥渂ridge鈥� between the aging Boeing jets that have served as Air Force One for the last 36 years and two new aircraft, which are years behind schedule and expected to be delivered in 2028 at the earliest. Trump toured the new jet just weeks after returning to the White House last year and directed that it be prepared for his use for the bulk of his remaining time in office.
The compressed timetable set by the president limited the modifications to the plane. Images of the jet captured since its unveiling and analyzed by the Associated Press show that it is not equipped with at least some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the outgoing Cold War-era jets.
The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.
Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, said that this absence, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet is better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going on a long trip, you take the big fancy car, but if you鈥檙e just buzzing around town, you鈥檒l settle for something less. Right? And this looks like it鈥檚 a domestic-only model,鈥� Gertler said, speaking of the new jet.
鈥淚f the idea was to do it as quickly and inexpensively as possible, it would seem to lead to the notion that there鈥檚 less content鈥� in the jet鈥檚 modifications, Gertler said.
Trump has said he plans to use the new plane next week when he travels to attend the NATO summit in Turkey.
The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done 鈥渨ithout accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,鈥� but added that 鈥渟everal highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.鈥� The service acknowledged that it did not widen the doors leading out of the aircraft or include multiple stairs built into the hull of the plane.
Reporters are generally not permitted to take photos inside the plane unless Trump is present. But on Wednesday, Trump administration staffers shared images of the plane’s interior on social media.
White House communications director Steven Cheung posted a photo of aides gathered around a circular table that had off-white place mats and leather captain’s chairs. Monica Crowley, the chief of U.S. protocol, posted a picture of herself perched on a leather couch between a pair of Air Force One throw pillows. Mounted on the wall behind her was a framed photo of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
The jet carried Trump to North Dakota to see , its first official visitor ahead of its opening on .
The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement for the older planes that had previously ferried him as president.
鈥淭his is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,鈥� Trump said. Trump has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.
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