President Trump says the new presidential jet is headed back to the shop to be "maxed out." Speaking to reporters after landing in Washington on the Qatari-donated Boeing 747-800 he's been using, Trump was asked why he was flying on a plane that, as a reporter noted, lacks antimissile defenses. Responded the president, per the New York Times:
- "Well, it has—it has a lot, and you know it has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they're going to send it to have it be maxed out. So they're going to be sending it, and they'll have it be maxed out."
Trump did not specify what changes are planned, and the White House did not immediately clarify what "maxed out" means or whether his timeline is realistic.
The 14-year-old jet, rushed into service as a stopgap until Boeing delivers two overdue new purpose-built Air Force One planes, reportedly lacks some of the sophisticated countermeasures and hardened systems built into the older presidential aircraft. Sources tell CNN that the plane is particularly exposed "in international settings." The New York Times previously disclosed those gaps, prompting an investigation in which the FBI, under White House direction, personally served federal grand jury subpoenas on several Times reporters just a day after the story ran. Trump has previously said he intends to keep the Qatari jet for his presidential library.
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