President Donald Trump unveiled the new Air Force One plane Friday at Joint Base Andrews, a day after one of the two Boeing 747-200s used by presidents for nearly the last four decades completed its final trip upon returning from the G7 in France.
Trump exited the newly renovated 747-8, complete with a sleek red, white, and blue colorway with a gold accent, inside a new hangar at JBA, to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” before delivering remarks to members of the press. Qatar gifted the plane to the United States last year, and since then, it has been modified for presidential travel.
Trump began by saying that the planes being used for presidential travel were outdated and that other countries had superior planes for their heads of state.
“We had it all painted up, and these are the new colors: red, white, and blue, and we like the baby blue, but it was time for a change,” Trump said.
“Everything was designed good. It was my taste, I will say… He said, ‘What color do you like?’ I said, ‘I like the color of the American flag,’” he added.
Trump noted that the entire fleet of federal planes will have the same color scheme. Boeing is working on two presidential planes commissioned in a 2018 contract during Trump’s first term. The planes are expected to be operational in 2028.
Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Boeing last year for failing to complete the planes by 2024 and 2025 as initially scheduled.
The president noted on Friday that the new Air Force One will be flown over Washington, DC, on July 4th, when America officially turns 250 years old.
Breitbart News was aboard the SAM 29000 for its final trip earlier this week. It took off early Monday morning from Joint Base Andrews for the Geneva Airport for the G7 in Évian-les-Bains. From there, it traveled to Paris on Wednesday for the president’s stop at Versailles. Its final flight departed Paris and landed at Joint Base Andrews early Thursday morning.
