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During Aviation Crisis Trump Is Shopping for Used Luxury Jet to Replace Air Force One

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When President Donald Trump travels to the Middle East next week, he hopes to finalize a deal for Qatar to purchase 100 Boeing widebody jets—and for the U.S. to buy a used luxury jetliner, described as one of the most lavish in the world, previously owned by that nation’s former prime minister, to replace an aging presidential Air Force One.

President Trump has said little about the mounting aviation crisis America is facing. As NCRM reported on Tuesday, the Trump administration has seen nearly double the number of aviation-related deaths in the U.S. during the first 105 days of his administration, compared to the same time period during President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

There is an immediate crisis as well: a “communications breakdown last week that resulted in air traffic controllers losing radar and radio contact with the pilots of planes they were guiding into Newark Liberty International Airport,” which “has happened at least two other times since August, a current veteran controller told NBC News,” the network reported. “And at least eight or nine times in recent months, controllers lost radio contact with pilots flying into one of the nation’s busiest airports, said the Newark airspace controller who asked not to be identified.”

READ MORE: ‘Barely Literate’: Education Secretary’s ‘Deranged’ Letter Gets Major Red Ink Corrections

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are looking to use “their aviation and defense industries to turn commercial deals into political capital,” in negotiations that could be worth nearly $3 trillion, according to Bloomberg News.

“For the Middle East governments, the commitments are a tool to show their allegiance to the White House and curry favor with Trump. For his part, the US president wants to burnish his credentials as a consummate dealmaker, while allaying concerns about the robustness of global alliances after Trump’s drastic tariff announcements last month spooked international governments and investors.”

Bloomberg also reports that an Air Force One “upgrade may figure into the proceedings in Doha. A private Boeing 747 jumbo that Trump toured in February, originally owned by a former Qatari prime minister, has emerged as an interim solution to the new Air Force One presidential planes whose nose-to-tail makeover by Boeing is years behind schedule.”

It is unclear if the jets that carry the President of the United States are unsafe, or merely old and in need of an upgrade, or where President Trump is getting the funds to purchase and upgrade the Qatari jet, which once reportedly listed for $400 million. Also unclear is whether there would be any national security issues.

RELATED: ‘Where Is Duffy?’: Aviation System in Crisis, Transportation Secretary Blames Biden

The Wall Street Journal reports that a Florida-based defense contractor has been named “to ready an interim presidential plane by year’s end, said people with knowledge of the situation.”

The Daily Mail posted photos of the proposed Air Force One replacement, noting that the Qatari-owned luxury jet boasts “leather furniture along with glimmering floors and ceilings,” which match “perfectly with Trump’s famously opulent taste in décor.”

“The conference room has gorgeous tan and cream chairs with deep cushions that are adjustable with the push of a button. The corridors of the plane are lined with reflective, gold-colored walls that are reminiscent of Trump’s design choices at his own properties such as Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan,” and more recently, the Oval Office as well.

On board is a “conference room with deep cushioned chairs that are adjustable with the push of a button,” and a “glimmering corridor inside the plane that jives with Trump’s famous love for anything and everything gold.”

READ MORE: ‘Backward, Bigoted and Bad’: SCOTUS Slammed Over Trump’s Trans Troop Ban Ruling 

 

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The GOP’s Secret Weapon? A ‘Known Unknown’ That Could Swing the Midterms: Columnist

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Some political experts are predicting a sweeping “blue wave” this November, with Democrats poised to reclaim the House — and possibly even the Senate — as Americans grapple with soaring grocery and gas prices, while the Commander in Chief pours billions into what critics call a war of choice in Iran.

But the GOP has what could amount to a secret weapon, a great “known unknown,” that could help dash Democrats’ dreams, according to Henry Olsen, who writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, “there remains an X factor in the race: Trump’s $300 million in campaign cash.”

He calls it a possible “game changer,” especially given just how little cash Democrats have by comparison.

That $300 million belongs to a Trump supporting Super PAC controlled by close allies of President Donald Trump. And it’s not just $300 million. Olsen suggests that with continued fundraising, MAGA Inc., the Trump Super PAC, could be sitting on even more cash.

“Add to that the successes of the Republican National Committee, which had over $109 million on hand at the end of February. That’s so much that in the most recent reporting period, the committee earned over $7 million simply from interest and dividends alone, only a few million less than the Democratic National Committee raised in total during that time.”

READ MORE: ‘Big Embarrassment’: Trump Team Mocked After Admitting Lack of Evidence Against Fed Chair

He says it’s possible Team Trump could have half a billion dollars in total at its disposal by the November election.

Is it a “game changer”?

Olsen writes, “this is the thing we know we don’t know, to borrow a useful category from former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The big question is how much all that money matters given today’s polarized politics, because the winners in November aren’t going to be based on dollars raised but votes cast.”

One option for all that money could be for Trump to use “his cash haul to go big, define his achievements and contrast them with the Democrats via a major, partisan-focused advertising campaign? Essentially: ‘Vote Republican.'”

For that strategy to work, Olsen writes, Trump would need to do two things.

First, “he’d have to place well-crafted, coordinated ads in the largest media markets in targeted states and districts. That would be expensive even with sophisticated analytics helping to target the spots.”

And second, Trump would have to exhibit “unusual personal discipline.”

“His campaign speeches would need to hew to the themes in the ads so that his earned media would support the paid media message,” says Olsen. “He was able to do that in 2024, but his impulsive side seems to have returned in force since he took the oath of office. All that money would be wasted if Trump were giving the media a different story to dissect on a daily basis.”

READ MORE: ‘Doing This for You’: White House Mocked Over ‘Ridiculous’ Pitch to Young Voters

 

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‘Doing This for You’: White House Mocked Over ‘Ridiculous’ Pitch to Young Voters

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The White House is facing sharp criticism over its latest message to young voters who cast a ballot for President Donald Trump based on specific campaign promises.

Journalist Gabe Fleischer told White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday that in his reporting, he speaks a lot to young voters, “many of whom voted for President Trump for the first time in 2024, who were hoping to have no more wars and to have lower prices.”

“Now, with a war taking place, and with gas prices going up, I’m curious what President Trump’s message would be to those voters who kind of swung into his coalition in 2024, but maybe don’t feel the administration’s going as they’d expected.”

Leavitt did not pause before saying to those young voters, “President Trump is doing this for you.”

“He’s doing this for young people, so that we are no longer threatened by a rogue terrorist regime in the Middle East that seeks to kill the brave men and women who serve in our country in the Middle East, many of them young people themselves, young men and women who serve this country honorably in uniform and have been threatened, killed, and maimed by the rogue Iranian terrorist regime for 47 years,” she said.

READ MORE: ‘Big Embarrassment’: Trump Team Mocked After Admitting Lack of Evidence Against Fed Chair

Leavitt added that, “President Trump finally had the courage to step up and do what’s right for our national security, our homeland security.”

She called the spiking price of gas a “temporary short-term fluctuation,” which, “the president has said, once these combat operations are over, this administration is going to continue to unleash American energy dominance.”

Leavitt also referred to Trump’s war in Iran as a “short term combat operation,” and promised gas prices are “gonna go right back down when this is over.”

Some experts predict gas prices will not return to pre-war levels until at least the end of 2027.

Critics slammed the press secretary’s statements.

“She’s lying. It’s all they have left at this point. Lies,” said former Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh.

“The best thing you can do for young people is not send them to die in a stupid war,” commented U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a former Marine who served in the Iraq War.

“Trump is sending young Americans to die in a pointless, unnecessary war for you. He’s doing this to help young people. Ridiculous,” remarked Navy veteran Jared Ryan Sears, who writes at The Progressive Capitalist.

READ MORE: ‘Trump’s Intern’ Fetterman Under Fire — ‘Needs to Go’ Say Critics

 

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‘Trump’s Intern’ Fetterman Under Fire — ‘Needs to Go’ Say Critics

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U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is once again under fire — this time for his vote confirming Markwayne Mullin to become the Homeland Security Secretary — and among his critics are those who helped send him to Capitol Hill.

“John promised that he was going to go to D.C. and be Democrats’ 51st vote. And instead he’s gone to D.C. and is behaving like Donald Trump’s f— — intern,” Pennsylvania Democratic State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta told The Philadelphia Inquirer in an interview. Kenyatta had endorsed Fetterman’s Senate bid after losing to him in the primary.

“He punches down at his constituents and refuses to hold accountable the one person we elected him to hold accountable,” Kenyatta also told the Inquirer. “What I see from John Fetterman, unfortunately, is that he’s a weak man’s imitation of a tough man. A tough man doesn’t name-call his neighbors and the people that elected him when they’re asking him genuine questions.”

Kenyatta, the Inquirer noted, is part of a “growing chorus of Pennsylvania Democrats who say Fetterman has not only abandoned” his constituents, but he “is actively doing the opposite of what he told them he would do in a divided Washington.”

READ MORE: ‘Big Embarrassment’: Trump Team Mocked After Admitting Lack of Evidence Against Fed Chair

Former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) expressed her disappointment with Senator Fetterman after his vote to confirm Mullin.

“People worked so hard for Fetterman and he kicked them in the teeth,” she wrote last week on X. “On to 2028 when we elect a real Dem.”

Two days later, she asked, “Has Fetterman said one word about Trump’s horrible Truth Social post about Robert Muller dying? Numerous prominent Rs have commented about [Robert] Muller’s lifetime of public service.”

President Trump had commented, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead,” upon learning of the late special counsel’s passing.

The Inquirer added that U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), “after taking the rare step of asking her social media followers to call Fetterman’s office to urge him to oppose Mullin — said in a central Pennsylvania forum on Thursday that it was easier to work with Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick than with Fetterman.”

“Once again Sen Fetterman shows why he is Trump’s favorite Democrat. He needs to go,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) said of Fetterman.

READ MORE: ‘Heightened Threat’: New Memo Demands DHS Return to Preventing Terrorism

 

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