President Donald Trump’s controversial new Air Force One will be less government issue, more royal suite.
The Boeing 747, originally built for Qatar’s royal family, is being refitted for Trump after it was gifted to the United States last year. But despite a $400 million overhaul, much of its lavish interior is staying put.
“By and large, the airplane that we’re getting is in the same condition from an interior perspective,” Air Force Gen. Dale White told The Wall Street Journal.
Oversized leather seats, plush couches, and faux library-style bookshelves will all remain onboard, now paired with U.S. presidential seals instead of royal insignia.
The $400 million price tag was driven by security and communications upgrades rather than cosmetic changes, equipping the aircraft with the systems needed to operate as a flying command center.
The jet was also stripped back during the retrofit process to ensure that no surveillance devices or hidden technology had been embedded during its time in foreign service, with multiple U.S. agencies conducting sweeps of the aircraft for potential threats.
“The full force of the United States government and the agencies that exist inside of that government have been instrumental in allowing us to be able to make sure that it is a secure aircraft,” White told the Journal.
The jet is one of the largest foreign gifts ever given to the U.S. government and has ignited controversy since Trump agreed to accept it. Some of Trump’s own allies even broke ranks when the gift was announced.
“I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” Sen. Rick Scott, one of Trump’s staunchest supporters, told The Hill.
Sen. Josh Hawley, another ardent Trump supporter, said: “It would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal.”
Trump has repeatedly brushed off the backlash, insisting the plane was gifted to the Defense Department and will serve only as a temporary solution until Boeing delivers its long-delayed new Air Force One jets, which are not expected until at least 2028, according to Bloomberg.
“I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” he said.
“I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
He added that the plane would be handed over to his presidential library upon his leaving office, and he would not use it after his presidency.
Renderings of Trump’s planned presidential library show the aircraft prominently displayed in the lobby, alongside a golden escalator.
For a plane supposedly gifted to the United States, it looks set to be treated as anything but.
