Trump unveils donated Qatar Air Force One at Andrews

Donald Trump unveiled a Boeing 747-8 at Joint Base Andrews on Friday, putting a foreign-government gift at the center of the nation’s most symbolic aircraft program. The jet, accepted by the United States from Qatar in 2025 for use as Air Force One, has drawn sharp questions about ethics, security and precedent as it moves toward presidential service.

The aircraft has been overhauled by L3Harris Technologies and repainted in a red, white, dark blue and gold livery that Trump chose. The U.S. Air Force said the jet is safe, secure and equipped for the presidential mission, and officials said it will undergo commissioning flights before it can carry the president. Trump said the hangar at Andrews had to be specially constructed because the plane is larger than the previous aircraft. He also said the new jet would take part in a July 4 flyover over Washington for the nation’s 250th birthday.

The plane is valued at about $400 million and is being positioned as a bridge aircraft while Boeing’s official replacement program remains delayed. That program, built around two purpose-designed 747-8 presidential jets, is now four years behind schedule and is expected to deliver in mid-2028, after beginning as a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract in 2018 and climbing to more than $5 billion in costs. Trump returned from Europe on the older aircraft just one day earlier, and White House staff posted farewell tributes to the long-serving jet.

The Qatar-gifted aircraft is meant to replace the aging military-grade 747-200B planes that have carried presidents for more than 30 years. To prepare crews for the transition, the Air Force said it leased another 747-8, bought a Lufthansa-flown 747-8 for pilot and maintenance training, and built a full three-dimensional mock-up of the interior for familiarization.

Still, the handoff has amplified criticism from Democrats and good-government advocates, who say accepting a presidential aircraft from a foreign government raises conflict-of-interest, security and constitutional concerns, including possible emoluments-clause issues. Democratic lawmakers have also questioned whether retrofit money is being diverted from the Sentinel nuclear missile modernization program. For Trump, the unveiling made the political stakes plain: a plane meant to project American power now arrives under the shadow of foreign influence, delayed procurement and a debate over where statecraft ends and personal branding begins.