Donald Trump unexpectedly left Turkey on Wednesday aboard an older Air Force One rather than ‌the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet that brought him there, but later boarded the new plane in Britain for the flight to Washington.

The trip to Turkey for the NATO summit, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey.

The unexpected plane switch followed months of scrutiny over the luxury gift intended to serve as a temporary replacement while Boeing struggled to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes.

  • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    I bet there’s better missile countermeasures in the “old” jet.

    It’s probably a concern being so close to various conflict hotspots.

  • ShredderFeederA
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    1 day ago

    If the Quataris have a self-distruct button…now would be an awesome time to test it.

    • GuyFawkesV@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      No, about 24 hours ago would’ve been an awesome time. Now it’s just folks following (legal) orders to move a plane who don’t deserve it.

      • ShredderFeederA
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        1 day ago

        I read that he’s taking the new jet from the UK home… I say put it down where the titanic went down. Perfect.

  • AreaKode@riskeratspizza.com
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    1 day ago

    lol. Qatar sent him an incriminating photo from one of their spy cameras on the flight over. “Just a reminder who your daddy is…”

  • Sludgehammer@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    It’s well known that the Qatar jet was a lemon that they gave to Trump as a white elephant gift. It probably developed some mechanical problem(s) and they had to ground it for repairs.

    • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      No disbelief here but that thing is probably a ship of Theseus situation. It will probably be years perhaps decades before we know how much money went into that thing before it took over as Air Force One.