In his continued quest to upgrade the trappings of the presidency, President Donald Trump today took his first official flight on the new, interim Air Force One aircraft, a Boeing 747 that was customized for the purpose and came to the U.S. via Qatar.
His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., joined him on the trip, where the president is scheduled to deliver remarks as part of the opening festivities surrounding the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D. Why Medora? Because Roosevelt himself often pointed back to his days in the region as some of the most formative years of his life, shaping him as the adult, and the leader he would become.
The library is privately operated and focuses on Roosevelt’s life story, with special attention paid to his younger adult years.
Roosevelt came to Dakota in September 1883 to hunt buffalo, and left having invested $14,000 in cattle and a ranch. Just a few months later, on February 14, 1884, Theodore Roosevelt’s wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, and mother, Mittie Roosevelt, died on the same day in the same house. TR was devastated, writing famously in his diary, ‘The light has gone out of my life.’
Depressed, TR finished up his third term as a New York assemblyman, and fled to the Badlands in western Dakota to mourn and recover. TR met people who were not like him. He learned the value of hard work worth doing. He sat under the stars, appreciated nature and loneliness in the vast, open space. He lived the strenuous life, and in doing so found reason to go on living, Edward F. O'Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, wrote in a statement.
Trump has mentioned several presidents as inspirations for him, but one he’s mentioned more than most is Teddy Roosevelt. And so Trump selected this particular trip as the one to serve as the new aircraft’s maiden flight.
Talking to a press gaggle as he prepared to board the plane, he said, "To be honest with you, I'm excited about the first flight. Nobody's ever seen anything like it." Let’s be honest. Would you have expected him to say otherwise?
President Trump boarded the Boeing 747 worth $400 million which was donated by the Qatari royal family to the Department of Defense as the new Air Force One, saying "There's never been a plane like this." pic.twitter.com/ObkrtzXuyu
— ABC News (@ABC) July 1, 2026
As the president mentioned, the aircraft that has served as Air Force One is 35 years old and was already scheduled to be replaced. But delays in manufacture led to the Trump administration working to find an interim replacement. He mentioned that this one has all the “bells and whistles” as you’d expect.
My colleague David Manney gave a full breakdown on the way this aircraft came to be.
The new Air Force One, a converted Boeing 747-8 once owned by Qatar, is bigger, sharper, and painted in the red, white, and blue colors Trump has wanted for years.
It's not just an airplane; for better or worse, it's a flying argument about how Trump sees the presidency.
The Air Force calls the jet a VC-25B Bridge aircraft that's meant to serve while Boeing finishes the long-delayed replacement planes that were supposed to modernize presidential travel.
At his heart, Trump is a builder. You can argue with his taste or even his style, but never with his intent or his ability to get things done on time and on budget. It’s in his blood.
There is a running thread in all that he’s done to try to refurbish Washington landmarks and restore the country’s luster through its real estate, and now through its presidential aircraft. It's Trump's desire to project American strength and America’s global leadership in small and large ways.
The new Air Force One, a Boeing 747-8 luxury plane gifted to the U.S. by the Qatari government last year, took off Wednesday morning, marking President Trump’s first trip aboard the plane as he travels to North Dakota for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening. pic.twitter.com/0UUnoS1xHR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 1, 2026
The aircraft that has been used for Air Force One to date will remain in service, but it will only use the “Air Force One” call sign if the president is on board. In fact, any jet or plane that the president uses instantly becomes Air Force One for that flight. When the president flies in the official helicopter, which is operated by the Marines, it is known as Marine One.
In related news, the White House's newest addition will be a dedicated helipad, as reported by Flying magazine:
The White House’s picturesque South Lawn is reportedly getting a renovation that would stop helicopters from charring the grass.
The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that, overnight, crews descended on the South Lawn to begin building a new helipad near the traditional landing spot for Marine One, the call sign for whichever helicopter is carrying the president. One of these rotorcraft, Sikorsky’s VH-92A Patriot, has never lifted off from the White House due to its penchant for torching the lawn.
So now, the TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) mob will have something new to complain about. Most likely, their complaints will fly against the very facts involved here. While the helipad is necessary because of the impact newer aircraft are having on the White House lawn, no doubt Trump’s critics will accuse his administration of needlessly tearing up the lawn.
The new Marine One scorches the South Lawn every time it lands. So Lockheed Martin — the company that builds it — is footing the $5 million bill for a helipad to fix it. pic.twitter.com/Vg5loUhrCb
— IredcapI (@IredcapI) June 30, 2026
As for the new Air Force One, I like it. I’ve always thought that while the robin-egg blue paint job on the old 747 was nostalgic and called to mind the view of the presidency in the John F. Kennedy era, we could use a refresh. David said it best:
The new plane also breaks with a visual tradition older than many voters. The Kennedy-era blue had grace and carried history, but it also came from another age, when the presidency still tried to look above the fray.
Trump has never believed that power should whisper; his Air Force One looks like a flag, a billboard, and a challenge all at once. Some will call it gaudy, others will call it overdue, but nobody will miss it in the sky.
As much as the legacy media likes to send shade Trump’s way on any given topic, and this is no exception, you can see here that the “journalists” who have the privilege of flying on the new aircraft are having difficulty containing their own enthusiasm.
ABC News' @MaryKBruce boarded the brand new Air Force One as President Trump took his maiden flight on the $400 million jet gifted by the nation of Qatar. https://t.co/1x6pIDBNHh pic.twitter.com/CCwABt871I
— ABC News (@ABC) July 1, 2026
The thing I like best about Trump is how he’s able to plow ahead with his own vision in spite of naysayers. He does it every single day, and he’s been doing so ever since 2016. It’s always interesting to see that as hard as the left tries to resist, every now and then one will reveal that part of himself or herself that is impressed by what Trump accomplishes. They just will never admit it or give him credit.
Safe travels aboard the new Air Force One, Mr. President.
