Trump’s first – President Donald Trump took his first official flight on the Qatar-gifted, retrofitted Air Force One on Wednesday, June 1, flying from Washington to North Dakota to visit the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The plane—dubbed a “palace in the sky”—arriv
For President Donald Trump, the moment arrived in the air—on Wednesday, June 1, as he boarded the Qatar-gifted Air Force One for his first official flight.
Trump flew from Washington to North Dakota, heading to tour the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora and deliver remarks there. Before boarding, he told reporters, “To be honest with you, I’m excited about the first flight. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”
On the maiden trip, Trump wasn’t traveling alone. His sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. joined him, along with Donald Trump Jr.’s new wife, Bettina Trump, and several White House officials.
The plane itself carried scrutiny from the start. The new Air Force One came from Qatar, marking an unprecedented $400 million donation from a foreign country. From the beginning, the deal drew bipartisan ethics and security concerns. Democrats accused Trump of violating the Constitution by accepting a personal gift from a foreign country without congressional approval. Even after the aircraft arrived. it required extensive additional work to meet security and technical standards before it could operate as Air Force One.
Among the most circulated details from inside the aircraft were images shared during and after the flight by Eric Trump, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung, and Ambassador Monica Crowley, chief of protocol.
The new plane—an 18-seat-by-18-foot symbol of ceremony and power. according to the description—has been dubbed a “palace in the sky.” It is a Boeing 747-B that Trump accepted from the Qatari royal family in May 2025. It replaced a Boeing 747-200 completed in 1990 that served as Air Force One for six presidents. dating back to George H. W. Bush.
Visually, the aircraft stands apart. It is painted in shiny red. white and blue. and includes the presidential seal and the words “United States of America” along its side. In measurements, it stretches 18 feet, 4 inches longer than the outgoing Air Force One. It can carry more weight and fly slightly faster and farther. though both aircraft hold about the same number of passengers and have the same height.
One fact sits alongside another in this story: the new plane brings Trump’s pageantry into a moment already defined by ethics and security battles. The first flight happened on June 1. even as the aircraft’s path to Air Force One status—through additional work to meet standards—was part of the controversy.
Looking ahead, the aircraft’s role appears time-limited. Despite its high-profile start, it isn’t expected to operate as Air Force One beyond 2028.
Trump Air Force One Qatar Boeing 747-B Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library ethics concerns security standards Steven Cheung Monica Crowley