When President Trump departed Friday for a weekend at his golf club in New Jersey, he boarded a noticeably smaller version of Air Force One (AF1). The color scheme was the same, but this was a C-32 (Boeing 757), whereas he normally travels on the much larger 747.
JUST IN: President Trump has just BOARDED Air Force One after a week of working hard for America, en route to Bedminster NJ where he will spend the weekend
— JUST IN AMERICA (@just_in_america) August 7, 2026
47 is fresh off an event with Marco Rubio, and will no doubt continue working hard all weekend 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/AWH00OUtrN
As RedState reported a few weeks back, the newest Air Force One, the one donated to the United States by the Qatari government and used by the president on his July trip to Turkey for the NATO Summit, was pulled from service to have its capabilities "maxed out." From our reporting:
Rumors spread quickly when President Trump departed the NATO summit in Turkey in early July aboard the old 747‑200B (VC‑25A) baby-blue-and-white Air Force One instead of the shiny new $400 million Qatari-donated jet that had recently been put in service. (After a stopover in England, he returned to the U.S. on the new plane.)
Was it because he is “number one on the kill list for Iran” and the Islamic Republic was threatening to assassinate him?
Concerningly, The New York Times put it out to all the world that the new plane was allegedly lacking advanced security features. Meaning, the nation's enemies now had sensitive information on the president's plane.
In what could be an important development related to this, the Pentagon announced early Friday evening that Frank Kendall, who was secretary of the Air Force under President Biden, has had his access to classified information revoked for "unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet."
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell made the announcement on X.
Effective immediately, the Department of War has REVOKED former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s eligibility for access to classified information and his ability to hold any sensitive position.
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) August 7, 2026
This action follows his unauthorized disclosure of classified information…
Effective immediately, the Department of War has REVOKED former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s eligibility for access to classified information and his ability to hold any sensitive position.
This action follows his unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet.
Safeguarding classified information is a non-negotiable duty. Those who violate that trust forfeit the privilege of access and any role requiring it.
A note of caution: at this point, we do not know for certain that Kendall leaked the information used by The New York Times. It could have come from him, or it could have, unfortunately, come from another leaker.
The White House had not commented at the time of publication.
This a developing story. RedState will be sure to provide updates as events warrant.
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