FLIGHT PLAN

Trump’s Jaw-Dropping Plan for Grift Force One Is Leaked

The president plans to use the jet for transatlantic travel despite its apparent security shortcomings.

President Donald Trump is set to use his new Air Force One on the first flight since his catering truck red herring.

A senior White House official told The Washington Post that, despite its comparatively lax security, Trump, 80, will fly on the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747 when he visits Ireland next week.

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Trump clearly prefers the $400 million jet the Qatari government gave as an “unconditional” gift in 2025. But it made headlines when Trump ditched it for another plane, via a catering truck, in a bizarre Secret Service operation in Turkey on July 8. The Washington Post revealed the ploy in August.

This bait-and-switch, prompted by an apparent Iranian threat, raised questions about the newer aircraft’s safety. But despite these questions, the president looks set to cross the Atlantic in the Qatari-gifted jet on Sept. 12.

Trump will meet Irish President Catherine Connolly, who has called him a “bully,” and hold a bilateral meeting with the Taoiseach, Ireland’s version of a prime minister, Micheál Martin.

He will then travel to Trump International Golf Links Ireland in Doonbeg, County Clare, on Ireland’s west coast, where the Irish Open tournament is being held.

During the elaborate ploy in Turkey in July, Trump hid in a catering truck and was ferried to a second plane, leaving the new jet behind. Air Force One took off as normal, acting as a decoy.

Speaking on July 11, Trump said the new jet would undergo maintenance to get it up to spec. “It has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out,” he said, without going into specifics about upgrades.

The following day, then-White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt moved to assuage concerns about the aircraft’s safety. “The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,” she said in a statement.

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“During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One.”

Trump later had to admit to the ploy after a Washington Post scoop exposed him. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters last month.

“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”

The Daily Beast has asked the White House whether he will use it and what upgrades it has received. However, officials refused to be drawn on specifics.

“We don’t comment on specific upgrades or modifications to Air Force Once. We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture. It is the greatest Presidential plane ever built,” a senior administration official said, misspelling the name of the plane.

The Post also reported that Trump is set to use the Qatari-gifted jet more and more in the coming weeks as he travels to campaign for the midterms.

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