Pretty sure they could afford it, but would prefer not to
this post was submitted on 21 May 2025
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Yeah, also giving it away costs them as much as just letting it rot. Yeah sure they get some brownie points but the value of those is hard to ascertain
What are you talking about? They got rid of the maintenance and fuel costs on a frankly stupidly big aircraft, and bought favor from an overgrown child too stupid to realize the "Gift" to satisfy his narcissism worked in Qatar's favor.
C'mon, let's talk like adults please, don't turn Lemmy into Reddit.
Giving something away nets them nothing; they could have lowered the price until they found a buyer, or just let it rot in parking for no cost.
They did what they did to gain Trump's good will, but spinning it as "they just did it to get rid of a cost" is disingenuous... They spent the allegedly low value of the plane hoping to gain more this way than with the other options.
Fuck Putin.
But probably in the billions.
Not that it's new information, but it's still disheartening that not only is Trump corrupt, but he's also too stupid to even be corrupt well.
he also too stupid to get rich the easy way too, he has to come up with scams all the time. if he had invested in his inheritence he would be pretty close to 100bn rricher.
No one really flies a 747 in a modern world because 4 engines are less efficient than 2 engines...and gas is really expensive so it increases your ticket price inordinately compared to a 777 which can hold less people but get those people there cheaper. Think dollar cost per seat.
You have some 747 cargo jets still which can get away with it due to it still being one of the best for moving a large number of heavy goods.
Basically...it's a white elephant. Now they own a depreciating asset that they cant get rid of and has a massive upkeep cost or a high cost of fuel.
DJT said it's the DOD's...but the DOD doesnt need a 747. Maybe they can make it into a new AF1. Keep in mind the current AF1 looks like a 747 but it's really a VC-25 - a military variant. There's already an open contract with Boeing to replace it with the new VC-25b since the current plane is 25-30 years old.
They can make it the new AF1, but they can't do so securely. There's a million nooks and cranies, moving parts, and it would be a waste of time to try to secure it all. And that's before you even get to the software, which is its own nightmare.
Not that I'd be complaining if this lead to Trump and some of his cronies discovering the meaning of "Don't Look Up", but the whole concept is just stupid.
They estimated it would take to 2028 to overhaul it into a plane as secure as the current AF1. The new AF1 (VC-25B) is expected to be ready 2027.
If we somehow get through this and get a Democrat elected in 2028 the first fucking thing they do should be to test some fucking cruise missiles on that plane, regardless of how far Trump gets it upgraded. Destroy it immediately.
why not test our upkeep of your nuke missiles.
how is trump going to maintain the upkeep of the plane after he leaves office? he surely is no used to putin or billionaires anymore so they arnt paying him any BRIBING money.
aybe they can make it into a new AF1
Much of the reason it's expensive is the interior, which would need to be completely stripped to retrofit with what AF1 needs, and why would you reinstall the old stuff instead of new?
It's a terrible decision for so many reasons but trump has talked it up so much and no one can explain the downsides to him, so he's just going to keep barreling thru it.
Nothing he's spending is his money, he doesn't give a fuck.
The more I hear about this “gift”, the more it makes me laugh… and the more it makes Trump look like the gullible moron that he is.
Didn’t recent news come out that it was actually a purchase, or was that disinformation?
I’ll take it.