Donald Trump spent months showcasing his new luxury Qatari aircraft as the future of presidential travel. But when it was time to fly home from the NATO summit, he left the controversial new jet behind and boarded the old Air Force One instead.
Trump returned to the United States on the aging Boeing VC-25A, the same aircraft that has carried presidents for decades, while the $400 million Qatari-donated Boeing 747 remained on the ground amid growing questions about its security capabilities.
Trump brushed off the decision Wednesday, telling reporters he was taking the older plane home “for old time’s sake” while the new aircraft would tour an Air Force base housing U.S. troops.
But the timing was impossible to ignore.
The switch came as scrutiny intensified over whether the Qatari jet is equipped with the same advanced defensive systems as the current presidential aircraft. Images reviewed by the Associated Press indicate the retrofitted plane may lack missile detection and countermeasure technology used on the existing Air Force One fleet.
That raised fresh questions about whether the flashy new aircraft Trump has promoted as a presidential upgrade is actually ready to serve as a secure command center for the commander in chief.
The concerns were especially notable after Trump spent much of the NATO summit claiming that Iran was targeting him.
“I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” Trump told reporters in Ankara, adding that he was not worried because he was “doing my job.”
Trump repeatedly claimed Iranian leaders were seeking his assassination, saying the danger was part of the reason for his aggressive approach toward Tehran.
“They had leaders. They’re gone,” Trump said, referring to Iranian officials killed in U.S. strikes. “Now they have another set of leaders, they may be gone, who knows, and you know what, I may be gone too, because I’m their No. 1 target.”
The comments came shortly after Trump declared that the fragile ceasefire with Iran was effectively over and threatened additional military action following retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases in the region.
The White House insists there is no safety issue with the Qatari aircraft.
White House communications director Steven Cheung called the plane a “state-of-the-art aircraft” equipped with the security measures needed to protect Trump and his staff.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him,” Cheung said, adding that the administration uses “every tool at our disposal” to deal with those threats.
Still, critics argue the controversy goes far beyond the plane’s technology.
The aircraft has faced criticism since Qatar offered it to the United States, with lawmakers and ethics experts raising concerns about accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government.
The customized Boeing 747 features Trump’s preferred navy-blue color scheme, red and gold accents, luxury interiors, wood paneling and presidential branding. The aircraft was reportedly upgraded at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trump has said he plans to keep the plane after leaving office and display it at his future presidential library, a plan that has already triggered questions about ethics, legality and potential counterintelligence risks.
