President Donald Trump said the new Air Force One plane that was donated by Qatar will be sent away for upgrades, amid swirling concerns about its security features.
As he returned from a trip to the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump was asked by reporters whether the plane lacked missile-defense capabilities.
“It has a lot of capability,” Trump said of the jet, which he started using this month. “But as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re gonna send it to have it be maxed out. ... It’ll take about a month,” Trump added. He did not detail the nature of the work.
Trump’s decision to fly back from a NATO summit in Turkey in a different presidential aircraft made headlines earlier this month.
The decision to ditch the Qatari-donated jet set off speculation about why the administration made the switch and the readiness of the new Air Force One.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Monday that Trump will fly on the old Air Force One as the new one is upgraded.
“The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,” Leavitt said.
A senior administration official said that the plan is for the plane to receive the “additional upgrades” in September, but it’s unclear whether that would come before or after Trump’s planned trip to the Irish Open at his golf resort in Doonbeg. The hope, according to the official, was to take the plane to Ireland first, as it is still considered safe for domestic travel and travel to Europe.
Earlier this month, Trump denied that security concerns were part of the decision to use the old Air Force One when departing from Turkey. But he said, “You know, the life of a president is very dangerous,” and he added later: “I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran.”
NBC News reported that the Secret Service urged Trump to take the old plane home from Turkey because he was departing from a location near the Middle East and the U.S. had just resumed hostilities with Iran.
Why Trump was advised not to use Qatari-donated Air Force One plane
Four New York Times journalists were subpoenaed by the Justice Department this month after writing stories about security concerns involving the new Air Force One.
The superluxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet was donated by the Qatari royal family last year to be used by Trump as the new Air Force One.
In June, Trump welcomed its delivery in an appearance at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington.
Trump called the jet — decked out in a red, white and dark blue color scheme, a departure from the lighter blue on the previous model — a “flying White House at a level of luxury no one has ever seen before,” adding, “Nobody tops this one.”
He flew on it to North Dakota on July 1 during a museum event honoring President Theodore Roosevelt.
The ornate jet is meant to serve as a temporary replacement as Boeing works on delivering long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes expected in 2028.
