President Donald Trump took the first official flight Wednesday on the new Air Force One, a specially outfitted $400 million Boeing 747 gifted to the U.S. by Qatar and featuring a bold red, white, and blue paint job to replace the Kennedy-era robin’s‑egg blue and white scheme.
“You can do two things,” he told reporters on the tarmac. “You can low-key it, or you can show it.”
POTUS is headed to North Dakota to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, where he will be its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
It just might be the world’s greatest plane, the president said:
"This will be the first flight of what I think is maybe the greatest commercial plane ever built," says @POTUS as he departs for the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 1, 2026
"This is a plane that the United States of America should have. Our Air Force One was 36… pic.twitter.com/zd9EG3RyD0
"This will be the first flight of what I think is maybe the greatest commercial plane ever built," says @POTUS as he departs for the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library.
"This is a plane that the United States of America should have. Our Air Force One was 36 years old."
MORE: President Trump to Attend the Inaugural Celebration for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Red, White, and Blue: Air Force One to Get First New Paint Design Since Kennedy Era
Because it’s Trump, the plane is tricked out in style and sports plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling, and a presidential seal on the seat belts. The president said it should make the country proud:
I think, you know, to be honest with you, I'm excited about the first flight. It's something nobody's ever seen... Even you people, with all your experience and all of your talent, you will never see anything like this. So they just completed it. They made it appropriate for a president. That means the security and all of the different bells and whistles they put on, very complex stuff.
But it's really quite something. And this is a plane that the United States of America should have. Our Air Force One was 35, 36 years old, and it would be parked next to the new ones like this, and it really didn't look appropriate for our country.
The aircraft was donated by the Qatari royal family in May 2025 and gifted to the U.S. Department of Defense. Some detractors said it raised questions over conflict of interest and national security issues, but Trump said it was long past time for a new plane, and it would be against our interests to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Regardless, it's here now, and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung was ready to go:
Maiden voyage on the new Air Force One! pic.twitter.com/svD3StjUkk
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) July 1, 2026
Special Assistant to the President Margo Martin got the ground view:
First trip on the new Air Force One! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/E7QA30xfFM
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) July 1, 2026
And there she goes!
MAIDEN VOYAGE 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/b1RBlnbrFt pic.twitter.com/Xbqm2NHXwV
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 1, 2026
The plane will remain in service until long-delayed Boeing replacements are delivered in 2028 to take over the permanent job. Trump has said the Qatar-donated plane will eventually be featured in his presidential library.
The president has wanted a new Air Force One since his first term — and on Wednesday, just in time for America 250, his wish came true.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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