I can think of something funnier…
Over the Reflecting Pool.
The president left the NATO summit in Ankara today on the older Air Force One jet rather than the retrofitted Qatari jet. The explanation is that the new plane is lacking the anti-missile defense systems that are present on the older planes (VC-25A).
If that’s the case, it goes a long way to explaining something I was wondering about. This new plane was supposedly retrofit to meet the security needs in less than a year, in addition to whatever time was needed to ensure that neither the Qataris nor anyone else left any espionage equipment on board (or even planted a bomb).
Meanwhile new planes are being made ready (the VC-25B planes). Work started around 2018 but the first of the two planes isn’t expected until 2027 (with the second to be delivered the following year). And these planes were never in foreign hands so presumably they need less in the way of debugging.
So how is it that the VC-25B planes are taking a decade to deliver while the Qatari jet (VC-25B Bridge) was made ready in less than a year? The answer, apparently, is that the Qatari jet only received some of the necessary upgrades.
I wonder if anybody makes roll-up escalators? People are always tripping up and down regular stairs.
Not a roll-up, but King Salman of Saudi Arabia uses an escalator car that travels with his plane.
Sometimes his gold plated, private escalator temporarily becomes stairs. Sorry for the convenience.
In the cargo hold or something? That’s luxury!
They might send it in an advance plane. I think that’s how the Presidential limo travels - in a C-5A.
To be honest, it always amused me that the POTUS (of whichever party) goes up and down a staircase when boarding or disembarking from Air Force One, while us ordinary people use a jet bridge to board commercial airliners at most airports. (There are still a few that use staircases, and a couple small Los Angeles area airports that use a ramp.)
Yes
I assume the blue markings on the plane that carries the car not matching the gold markings in the original photo means they are different planes, but still, that’s quite a lot of effort for avoiding a short flight of stairs. Then again, given Trump’s clear physical and mental failings, his visible health struggles and especially his struggle with stairs, it would seem warranted in his case if Republicans were really worried about him taking a fatal tumble.
I’d suggest that Trump would balk at the image of going to all these lengths to protect his health as a sign of weakness, which he is terrified of doing, but he also likes to flash wealth and privilege, and if he had a gold-painted car with an escalator that flew in advance it would really be on brand for him.
Part of the appeal of it - is the flex.
He should have a gaudy gold spiral staircase unscrew itself from the bottom of the plane.
He might as well just have a penis-shaped gold escalator extend from the plane, operated by a blonde stewardess who has to handle a pump-like device. No need for subtlety.
From the viewpoint of this guy who will never have one ginormous plane, let alone a matching support plane, bringing along your own escalator looks weak. Real men can do stairs.
Real men don’t even bother with the plane; they just fly under their own power!
I flew in with my own detachable escalator. And boy are my arms tired!