Trump reveals new Air Force One will fly over DC on July 4

President Donald Trump on Friday launched the debut of the new Air Force One, revealing it will lead a historic flyover of Washington, D.C., on July 4. 

Trump unveiled the jet, which Qatar gifted, during a press conference at Joint Base Andrews. After taking a tour of the brand-new jet, he came down the stairs for his “inaugural exit” and told reporters it would be part of the July 4 flyover he promised would be “the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”

“It was all of the generals — they wanted to do something special. They wanted to get it done for the 250th year,” Trump said. “I think I can say that we’re going to do a flyover like no flyover. This is going to lead to a group of many, many planes. … Every pilot wants to do it. Those pilots are all fighting to do it, so we’re gonna have a lot of planes flying over the Capitol and over the White House.”

The July 4 celebrations in Washington, D.C., promise to be some of the grandest the capital has ever seen, as officials prepare landmark initiatives to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. On the National Mall alone, over 1 million people are expected to gather on the holiday in “one of the grandest displays of patriotism that the world has ever seen,” including for the Great American State Fair and a historic fireworks show.

Now, Trump’s plane is set to join the show. Qatar gifted the Boeing 747 luxury jet to the United States in 2025. At the time, Trump said it would be converted for use as the new Air Force One, after Boeing’s work to build a similar new aircraft for the government faced costly delays.

“The other plane was about 35 years old — and it was time,” the president said Friday. “A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft — but our country has to be represented properly. We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest aircraft anywhere in the world. We should have the greatest plane, too.”

“Every man and woman here today should be incredibly proud of what we’ve all achieved because this is representative of our country … nobody tops this one,” Trump added. “Our pilots, designers, and engineers prepared an aircraft that is the largest Air Force One ever built. It flies further and faster than any Air Force One [ever] … and which is among the most beautiful aircraft the Air Force will ever see.”

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The White House appeared to use the old Air Force One for the last time earlier this week. 

Trump is reportedly considering taking his first flight on the new plane to Mount Rushmore for an event on July 3.