Look: Trump Unveils New Patriotic Redesign for Air Force One
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled his new vision for Air Force One, even as House Democrats demanded Trump get their permission to make any changes in the iconic aircraft.
Trump, in an interview aired on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” showed the new design he has in mind for the two new Boeing aircraft that are on order to replace the current jets used to transport the president. The current design was put in place during the John F. Kennedy administration.
“George, take a look at this,” Trump told George Stephanopoulos, one of the show’s co-hosts, as the president showed drawings of the plane.
“Here’s your new Air Force One,” Trump said, noting that due to delivery schedules he does not expect to ride in the aircraft he is helping to design. “I’m doing that for other presidents, not for me.”
The new colors Trump proposes would replace the current blue and white look of the plane with a combination of red, white and blue. The plane would have a blue lower section and a white upper one, with a red line along the sides where the windows are.
Trump had criticized the initial deal with Boeing to buy the jets, and cut a deal to buy the two planes for $3.9 billion, $1.4 billion less than the original estimates.
“It’s a 747, but you know, it’s a much bigger plane. It’s a much bigger wing span,” Trump said.
But Trump was sparing when it came to details. “You know what, there are a couple of secrets I don’t think we’re supposed to be talking about,” Trump said.
“Here’s your new Air Force One.”
Pres. Trump shows @GStephanopoulos mock-ups of his vision for the next generation of the presidential aircraft during an exclusive @ABC News interview. https://t.co/pk06Xt4hJ5 pic.twitter.com/daO2s3wNhN
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 13, 2019
Trump admitted reality cannot compare to fiction, however.
“Everyone wants to know, is there a pod or not?” Stephanopoulos asked. “Seen the movie ‘Air Force One’? … The famous pod that flies out of the back?”
“Oh, I see,” Trump said. “But, yeah, no.”
Trump’s ability to put his vision in the sky would be restricted if House Democrats get their way.
On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to a defense spending bill that would require Trump to have the blessing of Congress for any “work relating to aircraft paint scheme, interiors and livery” before the work takes place, The Hill reported.
“Additional paint can add weight to the plane, additional fixtures inside the plane can also add cost and delays to the delivery of the plane,” Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut said.
The amendment passed on a party-line vote, with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposed. Republican Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama voted against the amendment, saying it “looks like an attempt to just poke at the president.”
A final decision on the colors scheme for the new planes is not required until 2021, Bloomberg reported. The planes have an expected arrival date of September 2024.
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