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The new Qatar-gifted Air Force One made it first official flight with President Donald Trump on board on Wednesday, June 1, as the president flew from Washington to North Dakota to honor one of his favorite presidents: Theodore Roosevelt."To be honest with you, I'm excited about the first flight. Nobody's ever seen anything like it," Trump told reporters before boarding the plane to head to Medora, where he's set to tour and give remarks at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.The president was joined on the maiden flight by his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump Jr.'s new wife, Bettina Trump, and several White House officials.The new plane from Qatar, which marked an unprecedented $400 million donation from a foreign country, raised bipartisan ethics and security concerns. Democrats accused Trump of violating the Constitution by accepting a personal gift from a foreign country without congressional approval. The aircraft later even required extensive additional work to meet security and technical standards to become Air Force One.See pictures of Trump's new Air Force OnePassengers share pictures from plane's interiorWhile there are official pictures of the plane's interior, Eric Trump, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung and Ambassador Monica Crowley, chief of protocol, shared pictures from the maiden flight on social media.'Palace in the sky'The new Air Force One – a Boeing 747-B that Trump accepted from the Qatari royal family in May 2025 – has been dubbed a "palace in the sky." It replaced a Boeing 747-200 that was completed in 1990 and served as Air Force One for six presidents, dating back to George H. W. Bush.The new plane is painted in shiny red, white and blue and features the presidential seal and the words "United States of America" along its side.It stretches 18 feet, 4 inches longer than the outgoing Air Force One, can carry more weight, and fly slightly faster and farther, though both planes hold about the same number of passengers and have the same height.The plane, however, isn't expected to operate as Air Force One beyond 2028.Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@usatodayco.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
