Donald Trump thinks that his presidential jet, Air Force One, looks too tacky for him. What would he prefer? It only takes one glance at his king-of-the-world gilded-lily apartment at Trump Tower to know how his tastes run. God forbid, he gilded Air Force One or emblazoned the nose with his own face.
The man sitting in the Oval Office said that he wanted to move away from its existing look and go for a more macho, “more American” look. It must be really important to him, because he took some of his valuable time out from being the leader of the free world to meet with the Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilengerg, Axios reported.
Trump worked out a $4 billion deal to replace the two 747s,. Yes, there really are two even though they are called “Air Force One.” Whichever one he is flying rates the call sign “Air Force One.”
Never mind that the plane’s blue-and-white design represented 55 years of history. Our man Trump wants a design that “looks more American” and isn’t a “Jackie Kennedy color.”
The Air Force’s top officials point out that the existing Air Force One is “known around the world.” Yes, but the commander-in-chief wants a bigger, more comfortable bed.
When Presidential historian, Michael Beschloss, heard about Trump’s intent, he said:
‘Why would anyone want to discard an Air Force One design that evokes more than a half-century of American history? Every time you see that blue trim and the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” spelled out in that same typeface as an early version of the Declaration of Independence, it brings back JFK landing in Germany to speak at the Berlin Wall, Richard Nixon flying to China, Ronald Reagan stepping off the plane to see Gorbachev in Iceland and a thousand other scenes of Presidents in our past.’
Beschloss continued:
‘JFK and Jackie Kennedy approved that timeless design (created pro bono by the premier mid-20th century industrial designer Raymond Loewy) to replace an earlier version of Air Force One that had simply said “MILITARY AIR TRANSPORT SERVICE” and which made conspicuous use of the color orange, which Kennedy rightfully found ‘”gaudy.”‘
“Gaudy” might be a word unfamiliar to the Donald.
Featured Image via Getty Images/Time Life Pictures.
