President Donald Trump flew back from the 2026 NATO Summit Wednesday on the old Air Force One instead of the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747.
When asked at a news conference why he wasn’t returning home on the new plane, the president said it was because it was being taken to some American military bases in Europe so American forces could see it.
“It’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases, two or three of the big bases, where we can show it to people, and we’ll be going home by normal methods,” Trump said.
The president flew on the Qatari jet for the first time this week on his way to the summit and toured it with journalists on June 19. It’s meant to function as a temporary Air Force One while two Boeing VC-25Bs are being converted into presidential aircraft to replace existing aircraft. Those are expected to be completed by 2028 or 2029. The U.S. has spent a minimum of $400 million retrofitting the plane.
On social media, the president wrote that he was taking the former Air Force One for “old time’s sake” and to “give our great military heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force fleet!”
Trump has also said this week that the ceasefire with Iran is over and that the U.S. will “probably” strike them Wednesday night. He also said more than once Wednesday that he is “number one on the kill list for Iran.”