Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) criticized President Donald Trump for replacing Air Force One with the Qatari government-gifted Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) 747 Jet.
Trump’s Flying Palace
In a post on X on Saturday, Newsom’s official Press Office handle quoted a post showing a video of Trump lamenting the age of the Air Force One aircraft, saying that he had asked the Emir of Qatar if he could use the “brand-new 747 he got” with 800 hours of flying time.
“Our country has to be represented properly,” Trump said, adding that the regular 747 aircraft were “pretty old” when compared to the Qatar-gifted plane.
“Trump is so laser focused on affordability that he spent $400M retrofitting his ‘flying palace,'” Newsom’s Press Office handle said in the post.
Trump had earlier noted that the recent trip he made to the G7 summit would be the final planned journey aboard one of the older Air Force One aircraft that have transported U.S. presidents since the 1990s.
Iran War And Affordability
The comments come as the Iran war has caused Americans to incur billions of dollars in excess costs on gas prices at the pump.
Air fares too may not come down even after the ceasefire agreement, according to experts, who say that airlines were benefiting from limited seat availability and steady demand, which reduces pressure to discount ticket fares.
Meanwhile, the Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) could let the country access $300 billion in reconstruction funds as well as open the doors to a possible charge on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz
Chris Murphy Criticizes Trump
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) delivered heavy criticism of Trump over the Qatari jet and the Ballroom, saying that the President was using taxpayer-funded resources to support his luxury projects.
“You paid for a plane with ‘a level of luxury that nobody has never seen before’,” adding that Trump would reportedly take the aircraft with him following the end of his second term.
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