U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday, the costs for a new Air Force One – one of the most prominent symbols of the U.S. presidency – were out of control, and urged the government to cancel a contract with Boeing Co., for the jet. Donald Trump is all set to take the Oval Office on January 20. During many of his campaigns for the presidential election, Trump pressured the issue of the cost of the usage of the Presidential airplane by not only President Barack Obama but also Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton. The transition team said that his main aim was to send a clear message about his intentions of saving taxpayer’s money. Trump’s twitter in the morning read, “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!”
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
Sometime after his Tweet, Trump made a surprise visit to the New York Trump Tower and gave a press conference to amplify his Tweet. He said, “The plane is totally out of control. I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money but not that much money,” he said. Boeing got a contract of $25.8 million in January 2016, by the U.S., Air Force. The contract with Boeing was to conduct studies on the amount of building the plane as per the requirements of the White House, this also includes making it possible for the plane to communicate during a nuclear war, and also reducing the costs.
According to company’s website, the U.S. presidents have used Boeing planes since 1943, defense consultant Loren Thompson said that the “Air Force One has unique mission requirements, including possibly having to operate in a nuclear war,” he also added, “Of course it’s not like buying a vanilla Boeing jumbo jet.” Trump used his own Boeing 757 to campaign around the country, pledging to shake up Washington.
In a September 2015 Donald Trump in his Rolling Stone profile, during the presidential campaign, he was quoted as gushing about the capabilities of his own Boeing plane. He said, “I bought this from Paul Allen and gutted it top to bottom. It’s bigger than Air Force One, which is a step down from this in every way. Rolls-Royce engines; seats 43. Did you know it was featured on the Discovery Channel as the world’s most luxurious jetliner?” The Air Force One has bigger size and is faster than Tump’s plane. But while the Air Force One can seat 70 members, Trump’s plane is sleeker and can seat only 43 members. Stylishly built Trump’s plane is for luxury, but when it comes to safety Air Force One is being modified in order to survive and Nuclear attack.
The effect of the tweet was a drop in the market shares of the Boeing and related all the defense related Airliners. Boeing shares were 0.7 percent down in morning trade. The U.S., Air Force, which operates the presidential planes, first announced in January 2015 that Boeing’s 747-8 would be used to replace the two current planes that transport the U.S., president.
