It Turns Out the New Qatari-Donated Air Force One Isn’t Completely Secure

By Jim Geraghty

Thursday, July 09, 2026

 

Last month, President Trump started using his new Qatari-donated version of Air Force One.

 

“The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a statement. “From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated every requirement to accelerate delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission. This effort proves that the U.S. Air Force can move fast without sacrificing quality, security, or reliability.”

 

The New York Times, this morning:

 

President Trump flew out of Turkey on Wednesday night on the old Air Force One instead of his new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 as a security precaution related to the resumption of hostilities with Iran, according to people briefed on the plans, who said the change came at the urging of the Secret Service.

 

The swap deepens questions about whether the new plane, which the president had pressed to be ready as soon as possible, was retrofitted with sufficient security measures over the last year.

 

…In a statement, Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said that “the new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.”

 

“As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats,” he added.

 

But people briefed on the new plane’s capabilities, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, said the new plane does not have all the features of the older plane. The switch in the president’s aircraft when he departed Turkey was a precautionary measure made at the advice of the Secret Service and not because of a specific threat, they said.

 

The administration can make any argument they like, but if the new Qatari-donated Air Force One were as perfectly safe and secure as they insist it is… why did the president switch planes?

 

A whole lot of us thought it was a terrible idea for an American president to accept a foreign government’s gift of a plane for him to fly around in. We were told we had no idea what we were talking about, and should be quiet.

 

And somehow, here we are.