I bet you forgot about that Qatar plane that was gifted (?) to Donald Trump to use as his new Air Force One, that he will take personal possession of after leaving office through his presidential library. Lots of other stories have been taking up our space, but this one is now back in the news.
New reporting shows what that “free” jet will cost the taxpayer to retrofit.
The New York Times (David Sanger) reported that there has been a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from a Pentagon project that is designated to modernize our nation’s ground-based nuclear missiles. This price tag is in addition to the $4 billion already being spent for Boeing to deliver new Air Force One planes, but Trump doesn’t want to wait for those new planes. The Qatar jet will become his — not the new Boeing jets.
The gold-adored plane will need to be retrofitted with communications and safety systems. Some experts believe the price tag will exceed $1 billion.
This, of course, is a bigger priority of the Trump Administration than feeding starving children around the world, providing Meals on Wheels to elderly residents, medical care for the poor that would stop infectious diseases from spreading, food stamps for single mothers with children, Head Start to give poor children basic skills before starting school, and adequate Medicaid funds to facilitate end-of-life care for those who cannot afford to pay for a nursing home. This is the United States of America now.
Here is a YouTube video from The Bulwark which further details this story. It is about seven minutes.