An Air Force official told Air and Space Forces Magazine that the service is coordinating with the White House and Boeing “to further define the requirements and acceleration options while ensuring we provide a safe, secure, and reliable aircraft for the president.”
Trump has previously expressed his frustration with receiving the next-generation Air Force One, suggesting earlier this year that he may seek “alternatives, because it’s taking Boeing too long.”
Despite the backlash, the president doubled down on his proposal to use the Qatari jet as Air Force One, saying he doesn’t plan on using it after his term and would donate it to a future presidential library.
“I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,'” Trump told reporters Monday.
Though free in cost, there’s still a major cost to overhaul and retrofit the plane with the strict security requirements needed to serve as Air Force One.
“Along with the obvious ethical and legal issues, a $400M gifted luxury jet is not Air Force One,” US Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut wrote on X. “Retrofitting a plane from Qatar would create huge costs & a security nightmare that would impede the work underway to deliver the actual AF1 by 2027.”
