How many Billions will DoD spend, paying L3, to duplicate the work done by Boeing, on it’s two whitetails that DoD bought?
Steve…will it say “United States of America” on the side, or “Trump”?
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None to very little. Remember, Trump wants the plane NOW. He doesn’t care about the behind the scenes stuff that keeps him safe. He’s entranced by the luxury interior.
A quick paint job in some gaudy colors is all he is willing to wait for.
–Peter
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Then, the old 74 will need to fly with it, to cover the toy with it’s ECM and flair dispensing systems, as well as keeping the secure comm systems handy. Wonder what sort of short rage comm system they could set up between the planes, to bridge to the secure systems?
There is money to be made, so a mod contract will almost certainly be let.
Does the CEO of L3 play golf?
Steve
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Where is the vociferous outrage towards this man and his obvious wasteful actions?
Only silence from his party.
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Just renamed by German TV: ‚Hairforce One‘.
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How about the obvious bribery? How about the fact he originally ASKED for the plane? How about the fact this is blatantly unconstitutional?
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Brilliant! or should I say
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No. Much too boring. He’d prefer to fly in formation with fighter jets. Let them shoot down any baddies, just like in Top Gun.
And secure comms??? Surely you jest. A starlink internet connection is all he needs to use Signal. Or X. I’m sure he can get that as a donation to the defense department as well.
–Peter
PS - the flair dispensing is on the inside. The outside will have flare dispensing. Can’t pass up a good typo. 
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This is true. “Fair” is done with hair.
Steve
It amazes me how USian media, and USian pols, from both sides of the aisle, alone in the world, chronically mispronounce “Qatar”. Watch the Beeb, or DW, or listen to leading pols anywhere else, and they pronounce it correctly.
But not in Shiny-land. Even Blinken, the SecState, who was supposed to talk with Qataris, butchered it. I haven’t noticed Rubio, but he probably butchers it too.
Yup, Rubio butchers it too, at the 3:08 mark.
Being willfully, proudly, and defiantly, ignorant must be part of that “American exceptionalism” we hear so much about.
Steve
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I’ve just had an insight.
Keep the plane. Issue the contract to gut it in preparation for the various retrofits and get that done. Then slow walk the retrofits. Congress could even cancel the retrofit funding in 2027. Then in Jan 2029 when the plane goes to the Trump library, start charging the library storage fees for the plane.
Probably couldn’t collect enough to offset all of his grift, but it would be a start.
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It’s even easier. Keep the plane, and don’t give it to the library after only a few years of use.
I mean, the existing AF1 planes have had 40 years of service. The Reagan plane was given to his library because it was being decommissioned. So don’t decommission this plane. If we get down the road of actually spending a few hundred million to turn it into an AF1-suitable aircraft, keep it and use it for a couple decades.
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Funny to see the left throw tantrums
It’s funny to see the Extreme right having no problems with corruption, Huge corruption.
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Do you have any kind of defense of these actions or at least want to share your point of view or is a quick quip all you have to add? I’m genuinely serious and not mocking you.
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Few years? How about a few days to weeks. My understanding is that it would go to the library just before his term is over. And that it could easily take 3 years to properly retrofit the plane. That wouldn’t leave much time at all to use it.
I’ll admit that my suggestion was somewhat tongue in cheek - making the plane as useless to Trump as possible.
But I have an even easier suggestion. How about not accepting a bribe — oops — a gift from Qatar at all?
—Peter
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Seems like maintenance and operating costs for a 747 would be an appropriate priority for this library’s funds.
I’m not thinking that reading will be a top priority. Probably more of a top golf theme.
Edit:
Executive branch should spin this gift from foreign country as reducing trade deficit, albeit a one-time event.
It’s a double whammy really. Qatar buys Boeing product (+ to US trade surplus), then Qatar gifts US an asset (or, executive sells/exports “goodwill” to Qatar who purchases it with a 747, adding to US trade surplus again).
Can US get Qatar to do this each year, like a subscription?
Clear and present macro impact.
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