President says Air Force One to get ‘red, white and blue’ makeover
Forget John F. Kennedy’s baby blu e: The next version of Air Force One will be painted int he colors of the American flag.
“It’s going to be the top of the l ine, the top in the world,” President Donald Trump said in ani nterview with CBS. “And it’s going be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate.”
The new paint job for a global symbol of U.S. power would replace the blue, light blue and white color scheme that dates to the Kennedy era. Trump put the spotlight on Air Force One shortly before taking office when he criticized Boeing for the expense of the converted 747 jumbo jets. He later reached an agreement with the plane- maker and took credit for lowering the cost.
“Boeing gave us a good deal. And we were able to take that,” the president said in comments that aire d Tu esday, confirming an Axios report last week on the presidential plane’s new look. “But I said, ‘I wonder if we should use the same baby blue colors?’ And we’re not.”
Boeing agree di n February to a $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force to modify two 747-8 aircraft to update the presidential transport. The jets had been built for a Russian airline that went bankrupt in 2015.
The new paint job for a global symbol of U.S. power would replace the blue, light blue and white color scheme that dates to the Kennedy era.