Trump reportedly wants to repaint Air Force One to look 'more American'

  • President Donald Trump reportedly wants to redesign his official presidential planes because they don't look "American" enough.

  • The color scheme of the Boeing 747s — which take on the "Air Force One" call sign when the president is onboard — is currently light blue and white, and was personally designed by John F. Kennedy.

  • Trump now wants to recolor them red, white, and blue, Axios reported.

  • He reportedly wants to make his bed onboard bigger and more comfortable, as well.


Donald Trump reportedly wants to redesign his official presidential planes, because the current ones don't look American enough.

The president thinks the current light-blue-and-white color scheme on the jets do not sufficiently represent the US, Axios reported on Thursday, quoting an unidentified source.

The US Air Force maintains two identical Boeing 747 planes, which take on the "Air Force One" call sign when the president is onboard. One of them is always ready to go at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

The White House and Boeing struck a $3.9 million deal in February for two new Air Force One planes, and Trump has requested that they be ready by 2021.

Trump now wants a redesign that "looks more American," Axios reported, adding that he wants to make it red, white, and blue.

The president's two Air Force One jets are currently light blue — "luminous ultramarine blue", technically — and white, with a light brown and white lining, with the words "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" emblazoned on it. It also has the official presidential seal near the stairs the president typically uses to disembark the plane.

Trump also wants to make his bed aboard the planes bigger and more comfortable, like the one on his personal plane, Axios reported. During the presidential campaign, Trump used his personal plane — a Boeing 757 airliner-turned-private-jet — to travel around the country. It reportedly cost $100 million.

The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

While Trump has the power to redesign the jet, the US Air Force might take issue with it. Some senior officers like the current look as it is "known around the world," Axios said, quoting its source.

Former President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy designed Air Force One's current color scheme. Before that, presidents traveled on a rather plain Boeing C-137 Stratoliner. Axios reported that Trump had wanted the new planes to move away from the "Jackie Kennedy color."

President Kennedy and renowned French industrial designer Raymond Loewy sat on the floor of the Oval Office in 1962 with colored paper and crayons to sketch out that paint scheme, according to a book about the history of the jet, titled "Air Force One: The Aircraft that Shaped the Modern Presidency."

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