# Trump is going to use a gifted foreign aircraft as Air Force One **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 11, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256 "2025-05-11T17:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/101 "2025-05-14T13:21:30Z")
In response to the claim that the jet would go to the Trump Presidential library after Trump leaves office, someone above remarked that “when he leaves office” might be undefined for TRump, who doesn’t like to give up anything. So maybe, in the spirit of “If we give you a Going-Away Present, will you go away?”, maybe we ought to let them gift it to his library, on condition that it not be re-assigned until he does leave. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/102 "2025-05-14T13:39:06Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Also, side note: I always thought Qatar was pronounced ‘kah-TAR’, but lately I’ve been hearing it pronounced more like ‘cutter’. Which is more correct? My understanding is that it’s not really either one. English speakers really want to accent one of the syllables: so either “CUT-ter” or “kah-TAAR”, but it doesn’t really work that way in Arabic. I think it’s closer to the “CUT-ter” but with each syllable having the same stress - so “cut-ter”. But the first consonant is more like a hard ‘g’ (well, partway between ‘k’ and ‘g’) and the final ‘r’ should be short and have a roll. So yeah… it’s complicated and difficult. IPA is something like: **ɡɪtˤɑr**. The transliteration CNN used in their explainer is **ghu-terh** which looks about right to me. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/103 "2025-05-14T13:43:25Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Also, side note: I always thought Qatar was pronounced ‘kah-TAR’, but lately I’ve been hearing it pronounced more like ‘cutter’. Which is more correct? > [@DaveUnknown](#): > > I worked with a fellow from Qatar— he said it’s pronounced like “cutter.” Although there was more nuance, it’s not “kah-tar”. > [@Jas09](#): > > So yeah… it’s complicated and difficult. IPA is something like: **ɡɪtˤɑr**. The transliteration CNN used in their explainer is **ghu-terh** which looks about right to me. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/104 "2025-05-14T13:43:27Z")
Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, I presume. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/105 "2025-05-14T14:01:45Z")
Are you accusing me of working with sweathogs? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/106 "2025-05-14T14:28:43Z")
It’s not between K & G; it’s like K but further back in the throat. (Say P, T, K, and then go one more stop in that direction for Q). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/107 "2025-05-14T14:35:19Z")
Like huckering a loogie? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/108 "2025-05-14T15:11:17Z")
No matter, it starts with Q, of which they’re strongly anon ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/109 "2025-05-14T15:29:54Z")
Not even close. You’re thinking of a fricative sound (ach, it’s Bach!), but this is a stop, just like P, T, and K, only pronounced a little further back. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/110 "2025-05-14T15:48:14Z")
> [@DaveUnknown](#): > > Are you accusing me of working with sweathogs? It’s okay…I got a note. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/111 "2025-05-14T15:55:12Z")
“Signed, Superdude’s mother” ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/112 "2025-05-14T19:11:15Z")
Now he’s got a $200 billion or $96 billion contract between Qatar and Boeing. > **[Live updates: Trump lands in Qatar after meeting Syrian leader in Saudi Arabia...](https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-middle-east-news-05-14-25#cmao1abba00003b623tspxvp2)** > > President Donald Trump is in Qatar after he met with Syria’s interim president and inked deals in Saudi Arabia. Follow here for the latest live news updates. From article: "A White House fact sheet released later in the day said it was a $96 billion agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing planes, contradicting Trump who said the deal was worth $200 billion and included 160 jets, though “So it’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the Jets, that’s fantastic,” Trump said." 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/113 "2025-05-14T20:05:33Z")
My understanding is that announcements of sales by either Boeing or Airbus often quote the list prices for the planes, though they are heavily discounted, especially for larger orders. That may explain the discrepancy. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/114 "2025-05-14T22:20:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Donald leave something nice for “the next” President? > > The White House in smoking ruins, maybe? He might even move the Smoking Ruins plan forward—get the place fully rebuilt ASAP. Right to his specifications! > [@wolfpup](#): > > What I think may happen, since Trump’s second term has developed as one of unconstrained corruption and intimidation, is that he’ll try to bully the Air Force and Secret Service into dropping most of the security requirements that exist on the real VC-25 so he can have his new toy right away, thus endangering national security as well as himself and everyone who travels with him. I think you’re correct in guessing that he’ll push for this. Otherwise he’d likely have a two-year wait: to satisfy security concerns, I’m hearing, the entire plane has to be taken apart and then put back together, and major functions (such as equipment for in-air re-fueling) must be shoe-horned in somehow. A long-term labor that will cost taxpayers a billion dollars or so. So Donald will call for 24/7 operations so that his wait time will be minimized–driving up the cost to taxpayers. As of an hour ago, apparently, Republicans have NOT yet fallen into line with all these plans: > [@](#): > > … The debate over the plane has put plenty of Republicans in a bind over how to respond. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., avoided addressing the dilemma with reporters on Wednesday. Johnson said his focus was on the reconciliation bill that House Republicans are hoping to pass by Memorial Day to enact the president’s domestic agenda. > > “There are authorities that police the executive branch,” Johnson said. “That’s not me.” > > Despite Johnson’s remark, Congress does in fact have the authority to investigate the executive branch. … [https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5398099/trump-qatar-air-force-one-republicans-congress](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/nx-s1-5398099/trump-qatar-air-force-one-republicans-congress) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/115 "2025-05-14T23:27:35Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > (such as equipment for in-air re-fueling) I believe the VC-25Bs will not have inflight refuelling, as a cost saving measure. From what I’ve read, the VC-25As have it, but it’s never been used. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/116 "2025-05-14T23:39:06Z")
Even if the requirement for in-flight refueling is dropped, there are many dozens of other major and critical features on the VC-25s, many of which aren’t even public knowledge. The modifications are not trivial and, as Boeing discovered, cost much more than the aircraft itself. If Trump accepts this “gift”, it will be one of the most idiotic decisions to date in an administration already filled with idiotic decisions that defy belief. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/117 "2025-05-14T23:54:34Z")
No disagreement from me. There are several airplane raffles per year. If I bought a ticket and won, I would not be able to afford my $75 airplane. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/118 "2025-05-15T00:21:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > If Trump accepts this “gift”, it will be one of the most idiotic decisions to date in an administration already filled with idiotic decisions that defy belief. If and when modifications cost ten or millions of dollars, I will agree with you. But if Trump insists on using the plane right away,with no expensive mods except, maybe, a paint job, I won’t. Here’s what a real populist would do: [On 26 December 1973, President Richard Nixon became the first sitting US President to travel onboard a regularly scheduled commercial flight. The President took to the skies on a routine transcontinental flight operated by United Airlines between Washington DC’s Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) . . .](https://simpleflying.com/executive-one-richard-nixon-flight-history/) Nixon was not a populist, and that flight was a stunt. But even back then, communications did not require a modified aircraft. From my last link: > [@](#): > > During the flight, one of Nixon’s top advisors carried a relatively unremarkable suitcase-sized communications device onboard the aircraft. If Trump wastes a lot of money because a plane that flew an emir isn’t good enough for a mere president, I’ll be glad to join in. P.S. The real security flaw is not a possible bug. It’s having the like of Hegseth, Gabbard, and Trump on the airplane. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/119 "2025-05-15T00:26:27Z")
The difference is that Nixon’s commercial flight was a one-time stunt, just like GWB’s landing on an aircraft carrier. Whereas the regular use of a plane as Air Force One is an ongoing thing, giving bad actors lots of opportunity for planning, especially when they know it has no special defenses because the president is a fucking moron. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/120 "2025-05-15T00:31:22Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If and when modifications cost ten or millions of dollars, I will agree with you. > > But if Trump insists on using the plane right away,with no expensive mods except, maybe, a paint job, I won’t. ‘Ten or millions of dollars’? It _will_ cost close to a billion dollars to bring the bribecraft up to VC-25B standards. A new paint job alone will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256.md?page=7)