President Donald Trump took the inaugural flight of a newly designated Air Force One on Wednesday, traveling from Maryland to North Dakota on a luxury Boeing 747 jet donated by the Qatari government last year.
The $400 million aircraft transported the president and a small press corps to a celebration near the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Bismarck, completing the journey in under three hours.
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While the administration dismissed conflict of interest concerns, Trump outlined future plans to make the aircraft the centerpiece of his planned skyscraper presidential library in downtown Miami.
President Praises Aircraft
Before boarding the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday morning, the president praised the capabilities of the newly acquired jumbo jet, calling it the "best plane ever built."
He noted the uniqueness of the aircraft and acknowledged the country that provided it as a gift to the United States.
"Nobody's ever seen anything like it," Trump said. "This was a gift from a country that treated us really well."
After arriving in North Dakota and touring the new museum facility, the president addressed a crowd of spectators and compared his own perspective to that of former President Theodore Roosevelt.
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"He's a proud man," Trump said of Roosevelt. "But I'm a proud man.
I'm proud of our country."
During a speech near the library grounds, Trump also highlighted the significance of the flight to the gathered audience, calling it the "inaugural flight of a certain airplane called Air Force One."
He described the experience of the travel group during their journey to the heartlands: "We had a lot of fun coming over."
The administration faces separate logistical and political hurdles regarding the plane's future, as a Democratic senator previously labeled the aircraft "Bribe Force One" due to its origins.
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Trump intends to use the customized aircraft for official travel until the end of his term before donating it to his presidential library foundation.
