President Donald Trump said it would take about a month for the new Air Force One to be "maxed out." File Photo courtesy U.S. Air Force | License Photo
July 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump told reporters that the Boeing jet gifted by Qatar to serve as Air Force One is expected to be taken out of commission to "be maxed out."
He made the comment Sunday amid his return to Washington, D.C., after attending the World Cup final in New Jersey, The New York Times reported. A reporter traveling with the president asked Trump about the safety features of the Boeing 747-800 plane.
"Mr. President, this plane does not have antimissile defense systems on it," the reporter said. "Why are you flying it?"
The question came less than two weeks after Trump departed Turkey in one of the older Air Force One planes despite traveling to the NATO summit there in the new Qatari-gifted one. He later switched back to the newer plane during a stop in Britain, but the brief swap raised questions about the safety features of the new plane.
