- Biden spoke about the presidential plane at a $25 million fundraiser
- His administration has reversed a Trump redesign
- “Yes, we don’t do that,” said Barack Obama
President Joe Biden played along with a joke about Air Force One with Steven Colbert — and then made it clear that the historic plane won’t get Donald Trump’s favorite paint job.
The Late Show host asked about the famous plane at the end of his conversation with Presidents Biden, Obama and Clinton during a fundraiser that raised $25 million at Radio City Music Hall.
‘You are all busy men, you have to rule the world. Here’s an important question. All three of you served on Air Force One. You still have the keys, Mr. Biden. My Boeing made that, right? Will those doors remain open?’ Colbert asked.
“Before you go any further, will you give Pete Buttigieg a socket wrench to tighten the bolts?” he joked, referring to manufacturer Boeing’s problems, including a door plug that fell from an Alaska Airlines plane in the middle of the night.
‘I’m not going to sit by the door. I’m just kidding. I shouldn’t even joke about it,” Biden responded.
President Joe Biden said Air Force One will not get a new paint job
“One thing I can tell you about Air Force One: We are not changing the color,” he added. “Trump wanted to change the color.”
That prompted Obama, who added Biden to his ticket in 2008 and who advised him on his re-election, to endorse his view. “Yes, we don’t do that,” Obama said.
Trump famously oversaw a redesign of Air Force One, which would have included a new red, white and blue paint design. He even kept a model of it in the Oval Office.
He joked that he doesn’t sit next door on Air Force One. This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows a gaping hole where the panel door used to be near the fuselage plug of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, January 7, 2024
Biden spoke about the presidential plane during a fundraiser with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton
The Biden administration opted to keep the plane’s classic design, rejecting a Trump administration redesign that a study said would add to the heat and costs.
Still pulling the strings? Barack Obama agreed to the design: ‘Yes, we don’t do that’
The Biden administration has rolled back the new paint colors in 2022 after a study found that the darker colors would have caused higher temperatures and required additional cooling components, which in turn would drive up costs.
Under current plans, the new modified Boeing 747-8s, which will serve as the next-generation presidential aircraft, will retain the same seafoam blue color as dates back to the John F. Kennedy era.