Posted on 06/18/2026 9:50:22 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Top White House officials on Thursday morning bade farewell to a jet that has carried U.S. presidents around the world for 35 years, as the Trump administration prepares to replace it with a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar to serve as Air Force One.
As President Donald Trump and his staff returned from France after 3 a.m. on Thursday morning, White House communications director Steven Cheung and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted photos of one of the highly customized, heavily fortified Boeing 747-200B jumbo jets that are called Air Force One when carrying the president.
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” Cheung wrote on X, captioning the photo as “The Last Ride.”
The White House did not immediately comment on the transition, but the Air Force announced last month that the Qatari jet had completed modification and flight testing.
The transition will cap more than a year of controversy as backlash from Democrats and some Republicans criticized the highly unusual arrangement with Qatar, which has raised ethical, legal and national security concerns.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the $400 million jet as an unconditional “donation” to the Defense Department, which is responsible for its maintenance.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
At the pace they are going, the replacements my be here for the 50th president.
The next generation of the planes that Boeing is building will not have airborne refueling either. No presidential aircraft has ever been refueled in the air while being used as Air Force one.
Guess I’m thinking of the Doomsday 747. It used to sit at Grissom AFB years ago when Reagan was president
You could see it from the highway.
The ones flying today have the option of refueling. That requirement has been dropped for the long delayed replacements.
you look at one data point of a complex situation and make a judgement.
It is like looking at co2 levels and thinking you can control the environment.
I’m afraid there’s a whole string of data points on Qatari behavior. I named a few of them. The “new AF1” is the most visible.
the point is it is complex. We can’t see the whole picture and most of info we get is filtered through the media. Do not let them manipulate you.
I suggest you read Dr Thomas Sowell’s quote on “complexity of issues”. It fits here.
I suggest you read Dr Thomas Sowell’s quote on “complexity of issues”. It fits here.
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