{"id":11233,"date":"2026-07-03T02:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T02:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/?p=11233"},"modified":"2026-07-03T02:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T02:35:30","slug":"trump-says-us-couldnt-build-a-plane-like-this-as-qatari-gifted-air-force-one-embarks-on-inaugural-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/?p=11233","title":{"rendered":"Trump says US \u2018couldn\u2019t build a plane like this\u2019 as Qatari-gifted Air Force One embarks on inaugural flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US President Donald Trump points towards the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by the Qatari government, before boarding, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on July 1, 2026.<\/span><\/div>\n

Evan Vucci\/Reuters<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As President Donald Trump boarded his inaugural flight on the new\u00a0Air Force One, a luxury Boeing jet donated by the government of Qatar, he shared his excitement for the new aircraft and its foreign builders, saying the US \u201ccouldn\u2019t build a plane like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m excited about the first flight,\u201d he told reporters ahead of his trip to North Dakota on Wednesday for an America 250 celebration.<\/p>\n

The new jet, an unconditional gift estimated to be worth about $400 million, has generated legal, ethical and national security questions. The plane has a new color scheme \u2014 white, red and navy blue \u2014 and other changes that make it similar to the personal jet Trump has used for years.<\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump arrives at Air Force One on July 1, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.<\/span><\/div>\n

Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThey just completed it. 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\u2019s really quite something,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

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The plane \u2013 built by Virginia-based Boeing \u2013 has been a source of controversy since it was first revealed that Trump would accept it from Qatar. When the president first announced the gift, a person familiar with the matter told CNN the plan was\u00a0for the aircraft to be donated to Trump\u2019s presidential library\u00a0after he leaves office. The jet was\u00a0formally gifted to the Pentagon. CNN has reached out to the White House about what the final plan for the plane is.<\/p>\n

Trump, who is expected to use the jet until a new US-built aircraft is finished in about two years, said there has \u201cnever been a plane like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, we couldn\u2019t build a plane like this because we wouldn\u2019t be willing to spend the kind of money necessary. They spent top dollars,\u201d he said of the Qataris.<\/p>\n

Trump also explained Wednesday that he had asked Qatar if he could use their plane \u201cfor a period of time\u201d after the head of Boeing told him it was the best one. The president said Qatar\u2019s emir offered to give the plane to the US instead.<\/p>\n

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This photo, posted on X by Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, shows the interior of the new Air Force One on July 1, 2026.<\/span><\/div>\n

Steven Cheung\/The White House<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This photo, posted on X by Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, shows the interior of the new Air Force One on July 1, 2026.<\/span><\/div>\n

Steven Cheung\/The White House<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Trump unveiled the new jet last month at Joint Base Andrews, calling it \u201cthe world\u2019s most luxurious plane.\u201d It has leather seats that recline flat and seatbelts affixed with the presidential seal. The walls and carpets are tan and the light fixtures gold. Reporters on board Wednesday were served a ham and cheese croissant with a green side salad and fruit, served on the traditional gold and white china with the presidential seal.<\/p>\n

Last month, White House officials posted social media\u00a0farewells to the heavily modified Boeing 747-200, which had flown as Air Force One since 1990.<\/p>\n

Two 747-800s are being modified as VC-25Bs to fill the role of Air Force One, in addition to the Qatari jet, to bridge the gap between the old planes and the two additional planes Boeing is modifying that won\u2019t be done for roughly two more years.<\/p>\n

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump points towards the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by the Qatari government, before boarding, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on July 1, 2026. Evan … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11235,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11233\/revisions\/11235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reallifedaily.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}