As President Donald Trump boarded his inaugural flight on the new Air Force One, a luxury jet donated by the government of Qatar, he shared his excitement for the new aircraft and its foreign builders, saying the US “couldn’t build a plane like this.”
“I’m excited about the first flight,” he told reporters ahead of his trip to North Dakota on Wednesday for an America 250 celebration.
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 — white, red and navy blue — and other changes that make it similar to the personal jet Trump has used for years.
“They 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’s really quite something,” Trump said.
The plane 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 for the aircraft to be donated to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office. The jet was formally gifted to the Pentagon. CNN has reached out to the White House about what the final plan for the plane is.
