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‘Cancel Order!’ Donald Trump Attacks Plans for Upgraded Air Force One
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Dec 6, 2016, 3:59:54 PM12/6/16
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/politics/trump-air-force-one-
boeing.html?ribbon-ad-
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WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has for years flown in a
jet bearing his name, appeared to cancel a pending order for a new Air
Force One, saying Tuesday morning on Twitter that the upgrade would cost
too much.
Donald J. Trump ? @realDonaldTrump
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents,
but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
5:52 AM - 6 Dec 2016
28,647 28,647 Retweets 86,244 86,244 likes
The post appeared to come out of the blue: Mr. Trump had not focused
during the campaign on the cost of Boeing’s plans for a next-generation
plane for the president.
And his criticism of the contract to build on a newer Boeing 747-8
airframe raised the possibility that he might prefer to keep flying his
own, well-appointed 757.
The Secret Service and the Defense Department might object to Mr. Trump
keeping his own airplane. Beyond convenience, Air Force One carries an
array of top-secret communications gear for conducting everyday business —
and for managing a global crisis, if required, while aloft. It is also
equipped with a number of never discussed security features.
The current Air Force One, with its white and blue design recognizable
around the globe, is aging. There are actually two of the Boeing 747-200B
planes, each bearing the famous call sign only when the president is
aboard. The Air Force designates them VC-25A.
They were commissioned by President Ronald Reagan and delivered during the
term of his successor, President George Bush. The new plane, which the
Defense Department had hoped to deliver to the White House by 2023, would
have been more powerful, able to travel farther and more technologically
advanced.
But given Mr. Trump’s Twitter post, it is unclear when — or whether — Air
Force One will get an upgrade.
In remarks to reporters at Trump Tower shortly after his message, Mr.
Trump made clear that he was serious about the issue. He accused Boeing of
escalating the costs of building a new plane.
“The plane is totally out of control,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s going to be
over $4 billion for Air Force One program, and I think it’s ridiculous. I
think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a
lot of money, but not that much money.”
In a statement just before noon on Tuesday, Boeing made no mention of Mr.
Trump or his post on Twitter, but it said it remained committed to
proceeding with the upgrade to Air Force One.
“We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the
capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique
requirements of the president of the United States,” said the statement,
which was posted on the company’s website. “We look forward to working
with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to
deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the
American taxpayer.”
As an icon of presidential power, Air Force One has no equal and
presidents of both parties have repeatedly expressed that they would miss
flying the world on it once they leave office. President Obama last year
said the plane was the No. 1 perk of his office.
But it is also an expensive perk, reportedly costing as much as $180,000
per hour to fly. And building the plane, with its top-secret
communications and defenses against attacks, runs in the billions of
dollars. As of last year, the Air Force had asked for $3 billion over the
next five years to develop and build the planes.
That has long prompted concerns over waste among government watchdog
groups. And it is not only the president’s plane: During Mr. Obama’s
tenure, the cost of replacing the equally iconic Marine One helicopter
fleet had grown so much that Mr. Obama canceled that order, too. A new
contract has since been drawn up.
Air Force One is much better known across the world, serving as the
backdrop for the president’s arrival in countries both friendly and not.
On Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush flew the plane from air base
to air base, staying aloft because of Secret Service fears that he might
be targeted as the government scrambled to assess the terrorist attacks in
New York and elsewhere.
While impressive — the current Air Force One is 4,000 square feet,
including a bedroom and office for the president, conference rooms and a
cabin for the traveling news media — it is not gold-plated like the
fixtures in Mr. Trump’s plane.
It is unclear what motivated Mr. Trump’s Twitter post. Aides to the
president-elect did not respond to requests about whether he or others on
his team had conducted a review of the Boeing contract.
On the morning transition conference call with reporters, Mr. Trump’s
spokesman, Jason Miller, said the president-elect sold his entire stock
portfolio in June. The remarks were in response to a question about an old
Twitter post from Mr. Trump boasting about purchasing Boeing stock.
Last week, Mr. Trump announced a new panel of corporate advisers, called
the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum. One member of that panel is W.
James McNerney Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Boeing.
There is no reason Mr. Trump could not continue using the current Air
Force One. Even if the Boeing contract goes forward, it is unlikely that a
new version of the plane would be ready before the tail end of a second
Trump term, should he win one.
So Mr. Trump’s action — if he follows through on canceling the Boeing
contract — would affect his successor more than himself.
--
Donald J. Trump, 306 electoral votes to 232, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton and put an end to Barack Obama on November
8, 2016. The clown car parade of the democrat party ran out of gas.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
His Omnipotence Barack Hussein Obama, declared himself "Pooptator" of all
mentally ill homosexuals and crossdressers, while declaring where they
will defecate.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he has been in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
Loretta Fuddy, killed after she "verified" Obama's phony birth
certificate.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptitude.
boeing.html?ribbon-ad-
idx=6&rref=business/dealbook&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&ac
tion=click&contentCollection=DealBook&pgtype=article
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has for years flown in a
jet bearing his name, appeared to cancel a pending order for a new Air
Force One, saying Tuesday morning on Twitter that the upgrade would cost
too much.
Donald J. Trump ? @realDonaldTrump
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents,
but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
5:52 AM - 6 Dec 2016
28,647 28,647 Retweets 86,244 86,244 likes
The post appeared to come out of the blue: Mr. Trump had not focused
during the campaign on the cost of Boeing’s plans for a next-generation
plane for the president.
And his criticism of the contract to build on a newer Boeing 747-8
airframe raised the possibility that he might prefer to keep flying his
own, well-appointed 757.
The Secret Service and the Defense Department might object to Mr. Trump
keeping his own airplane. Beyond convenience, Air Force One carries an
array of top-secret communications gear for conducting everyday business —
and for managing a global crisis, if required, while aloft. It is also
equipped with a number of never discussed security features.
The current Air Force One, with its white and blue design recognizable
around the globe, is aging. There are actually two of the Boeing 747-200B
planes, each bearing the famous call sign only when the president is
aboard. The Air Force designates them VC-25A.
They were commissioned by President Ronald Reagan and delivered during the
term of his successor, President George Bush. The new plane, which the
Defense Department had hoped to deliver to the White House by 2023, would
have been more powerful, able to travel farther and more technologically
advanced.
But given Mr. Trump’s Twitter post, it is unclear when — or whether — Air
Force One will get an upgrade.
In remarks to reporters at Trump Tower shortly after his message, Mr.
Trump made clear that he was serious about the issue. He accused Boeing of
escalating the costs of building a new plane.
“The plane is totally out of control,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s going to be
over $4 billion for Air Force One program, and I think it’s ridiculous. I
think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a
lot of money, but not that much money.”
In a statement just before noon on Tuesday, Boeing made no mention of Mr.
Trump or his post on Twitter, but it said it remained committed to
proceeding with the upgrade to Air Force One.
“We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the
capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique
requirements of the president of the United States,” said the statement,
which was posted on the company’s website. “We look forward to working
with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to
deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the
American taxpayer.”
As an icon of presidential power, Air Force One has no equal and
presidents of both parties have repeatedly expressed that they would miss
flying the world on it once they leave office. President Obama last year
said the plane was the No. 1 perk of his office.
But it is also an expensive perk, reportedly costing as much as $180,000
per hour to fly. And building the plane, with its top-secret
communications and defenses against attacks, runs in the billions of
dollars. As of last year, the Air Force had asked for $3 billion over the
next five years to develop and build the planes.
That has long prompted concerns over waste among government watchdog
groups. And it is not only the president’s plane: During Mr. Obama’s
tenure, the cost of replacing the equally iconic Marine One helicopter
fleet had grown so much that Mr. Obama canceled that order, too. A new
contract has since been drawn up.
Air Force One is much better known across the world, serving as the
backdrop for the president’s arrival in countries both friendly and not.
On Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush flew the plane from air base
to air base, staying aloft because of Secret Service fears that he might
be targeted as the government scrambled to assess the terrorist attacks in
New York and elsewhere.
While impressive — the current Air Force One is 4,000 square feet,
including a bedroom and office for the president, conference rooms and a
cabin for the traveling news media — it is not gold-plated like the
fixtures in Mr. Trump’s plane.
It is unclear what motivated Mr. Trump’s Twitter post. Aides to the
president-elect did not respond to requests about whether he or others on
his team had conducted a review of the Boeing contract.
On the morning transition conference call with reporters, Mr. Trump’s
spokesman, Jason Miller, said the president-elect sold his entire stock
portfolio in June. The remarks were in response to a question about an old
Twitter post from Mr. Trump boasting about purchasing Boeing stock.
Last week, Mr. Trump announced a new panel of corporate advisers, called
the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum. One member of that panel is W.
James McNerney Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Boeing.
There is no reason Mr. Trump could not continue using the current Air
Force One. Even if the Boeing contract goes forward, it is unlikely that a
new version of the plane would be ready before the tail end of a second
Trump term, should he win one.
So Mr. Trump’s action — if he follows through on canceling the Boeing
contract — would affect his successor more than himself.
--
Donald J. Trump, 306 electoral votes to 232, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton and put an end to Barack Obama on November
8, 2016. The clown car parade of the democrat party ran out of gas.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
His Omnipotence Barack Hussein Obama, declared himself "Pooptator" of all
mentally ill homosexuals and crossdressers, while declaring where they
will defecate.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he has been in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
Loretta Fuddy, killed after she "verified" Obama's phony birth
certificate.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptitude.
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