BREAKING: Trump’s “New” Air Force One Is a Qatar Hand-Me-Down With a $400 Million Makeover
The Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by the Qatari government is on track to enter presidential service this summer, the Air Force confirmed Friday, completing a sweeping technical overhaul that cost taxpayers a reported $400 million while leaving much of the plane’s original luxury interior intact.
The jet cleared modification and flight testing and is currently being painted in a red, white and blue color scheme personally chosen by Trump. The Air Force confirmed the aircraft will officially debut later this summer.
The overhaul focused heavily on security upgrades, including classified communications systems and a thorough sweep for foreign surveillance technology. But the lavish furnishings from the plane’s days ferrying Qatari royalty are largely staying put. Plush couches, oversized leather seats, and faux library bookcases are all expected to remain. Arabic signage was removed.
“By and large, the airplane that we’re getting is in the same condition from an interior perspective,” the four-star Air Force general overseeing the project told the Wall Street Journal.
The jet will also lack a dedicated press cabin, instead using a curtain to separate media from administration officials.
Critics have raised constitutional and national security objections to the arrangement since the government accepted the plane last year, pointing to Qatar’s financial ties to Hamas and longstanding questions about whether a foreign government gifting the president a luxury aircraft runs afoul of the Emoluments Clause.
Trump dismissed those concerns publicly, insisting the plane was donated to the Air Force and not to him personally. Once he leaves office, the jet is reportedly set to be transferred to his presidential library foundation, with renderings of the planned Miami facility already showing a presidential aircraft displayed in the lobby.
So American taxpayers spent $400 million upgrading a foreign gift that will ultimately end up as a trophy in Trump’s personal museum.