President Trump took his first official flight today on the new Air Force One. The luxury jet, estimated to be worth about $400 million, was donated by the government of Qatar and retrofitted for the president’s use — an unprecedented gift that raised ethical and national security concerns.
The new Air Force One design replaces the familiar light blue hull of past presidential planes with a dark blue belly and stripes of red and gold, similar in appearance to the private jet Trump has used in the past for his personal travel. It has lavish interior furnishings, including large tan leather seats and seatbelts bearing the presidential seal.
“They made it appropriate for a president, that means the security and all of the different bells and whistles they put on. Very complex now, but it’s really quite something,” Trump said.
The Air Force has said that retrofitting the jet to make the necessary security upgrades cost less than $400 million. Trump is expected to use the new jet until two other long-delayed Boeing 747s, being built in the United States, become available in about two years.
As he prepared for a morning flight to Medora, North Dakota, for the opening of a new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Trump told reporters the country should be proud of the new jet. “There’s never been a plane like it,” he said. “Frankly, we couldn’t build a plane like this because we wouldn’t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollar.”