OT but i think the 747 story deserves a bit more nuance. First of all to be clear i'm dismayed by the idea. It's not great optics that Trump wants to keep the plane (library force one?) . Even accepting it in the first place is also odd. Add to that, using it as Air Force One seems to be impractical.

BUT, there is precedent for this move. They gifted an even more expensive plane to Erdogan. From what i understand they have been trying to sell the plane for a while. It seems even they have trouble affording it's upkeep. Turns out there isn't a huge market for luxury private jumbo jets. From their perspective it's a white elephant. Trump is aware of that.

I heard another explanation that this is a way of putting lateral pressure on boeing. Trump is frustrated with the progress of the new air force one. His current one is aging. It makes sense as it's a typical tactic of his.

I'm not coming to defend it, just to explain some of the rationale behind the decision.

(edit to reply to several comments. First of all air force one is well maintained but it's old already. Parts and repairs become more difficult and the amount of miles left on the airframe can't be too high. Replacement is necessary. As to building a new plane out of spares being faster... Just ask boeing how that's going for them. They even had the fuselages ready and waiting for quite some time. Boeing executives know they will face some actual consequences for murdering the POTUS, which is probably why it's taking so long. It's difficult to build a plane properly when you've gotten rid of everyone who knows how and you've sold half of your factories, some to even more bad faith actors then yourself.)

▲ ceejayoz 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> BUT, there is precedent for this move. They gifted an even more expensive plane to Erdogan.

"We gave a huge gift to an authoritarian leader" is indeed precedent; not a great one, though.

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FridayoLeary 7 hours ago | parent [-]

Point is it looks less like a tribute you might offer to a powerful emperor and more like an ordinary plane giveaway.

	▲	ceejayoz 7 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Are you… unfamiliar with Erdogan?
	▲	estearum 7 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		What?

▲ TheCondor 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

“Not great optics” is a very generous way to describe it. Maybe they should detail the faults of the current Air Force 1 and explain how it’s failing to enable the president to serve the nation. “Aging” is awfully vague and they service the hell out of those jets, completely rebuilding mechanical parts on an extremely aggressive schedule compared to airlines

▲ flir 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> using it as Air Force One seems to be impractical

well... yeah. you'd have to strip it back to bare metal components and start again, wouldn't you? trust in every bit of electronics on the plane would be zero. be faster to build a new 747 out of spare parts.

▲ 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

▲ estearum 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Even accepting it in the first place is also odd

illegal.

That's the word you're looking for. The Constitution is absolutely clear on this: POTUS is not allowed to accept foreign gifts without authorization of Congress. To this day, Trump has neither sought nor received Congressional authorization.

▲ davidw 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This is the emoluments clause:

    No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person
    holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent
    of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any
    kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.[5]

And the reason they put that there is the obvious one: this is as corrupt as corrupt gets.

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dboreham 7 hours ago | parent [-]

More what you'd call "guidelines"...

	▲	davidw 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It's extremely clear. As is the cowardice and moral rot of the people in the majority in Congress and the Supreme Court who are supposed to be responsible for upholding the clear meaning of the Constitution.

▲ kevin_thibedeau 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The gift was to the American people accepted on our behalf by the felon. It is public property that just needs to be declared inoperable when he is out of office so he can't use it illegally.

▲ mandeepj 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> this is a way of putting lateral pressure on boeing

Their two 737 max planes crashes, killed 346 people. I think they are immune to any pressure at this point.

▲ 4ndrewl 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Is it really a typical tactic of Trump or his administration. They don't come across as 4D chess player, more like make one move and they just tip over the table and say they won the game of checkers.