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| US President-elect Donald Trump holds a golf club during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump’s then-proposed golf resort |
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday costs for a new Air Force One โ one of the most prominent symbols of the US presidency โ were out of control, and urged the government to cancel a contract with Boeing Co for the jet.
Trump, who takes office on Jan 20, griped during his unconventional election campaign about the cost of President Barack Obamaโs use of the presidential aircraft to campaign for his rival, Hillary Clinton.
It was not immediately clear what prompted his complaint about Boeing and the presidential plane, but his transition team said that he aimed to send a clear message he intends to save taxpayersโ money.
โBoeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!โ Trump said in a morning Twitter message.
It was not clear what his source of information was for the cost. The budgeted costs for the Air Force One replacement program are $2.87bn for the fiscal years 2015 through 2021, according to budget documents.
Shortly after his Tweet, Trump made a surprise appearance in Trump Tower in New York before a group of reporters to amplify his comments.
โThe plane is totally out of control. I think itโs ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money but not that much money,โ he said.
A spokesman for Boeing said the company had no immediate comment. Boeing shares dipped after Trumpโs tweet and were down 0.7 per cent in morning trading. Shares of several other major defense contractors were also lower.
A wealthy real estate developer, Trump used his own Boeing 757 to campaign around the country, pledging to shake up Washington.
The US Air Force, which operates the presidential planes, first announced in January 2015 that Boeingโs 747-8 would be used to replace the two current planes that transport the US president.
The Air Force awarded Boeing an initial contract worth $25.8 million in January this year. This was to conduct studies on the costs of building the plane with the requirements desired by the White House, including making it possible for the plane to communicate even during a nuclear war, while also looking at lowering costs.
Trumpโs transition team said that his comments about the plane reflected the president-electโs desire to keep down costs across the board, and so save taxpayersโ money.
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| Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Washington |
Boeing officials were caught off guard by Trumpโs comments since the company is simply meeting requirements mapped out by the Air Force in consultation with the White House, said defense consultant Loren Thompson, who has close ties to Boeing and other companies.
Thompson said the cost of the contract is high because of the planeโs unique security requirements and communications equipment.
โAir Force One has unique mission requirements, including possibly having to operate in a nuclear war,โ Thompson said. โOf course itโs not like buying a vanilla Boeing jumbo jet.โ
US presidents have used Boeing planes since 1943, according to the companyโs website.
The 747-8 planes, 73 meters long with a wing span of 68 meters, can fly direct from Washington to Hong Kong, 1,600km farther than the current Air Force One.
In a September 2015 Rolling Stone profile of Trump, early on in his presidential campaign, he was quoted as gushing about the capabilities of his own Boeing plane.
โI bought this from Paul Allen and gutted it top to bottom. Itโs bigger than Air Force One, which is a step down from this in every way. Rolls-Royce engines; seats 43. Did you know it was featured on the Discovery Channel as the worldโs most luxurious jetliner?โ he said.
