The President wants a "new" toy

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Have you noticed a trend with this president? He will come up with something that would be considered outrageous for any past president. Critics will react and immediately the president's faithful will rush to his defense no matter what. As the story gains legs, facts will eventually come out and expose the ridiculous nature of the whole matter. At that point, the president's worshipers and yes men will downplay the president's faux pas and criticize the opposition for making a big deal of whatever the president now wants to downplay.

There has been no better example than this week's dust-up over the administration's plan to accept a 13-year-old, luxury-appointed, jumbo-jet from the Emir of Qatar. The Emir has apparently tired of his well-used "palace with wings" and is ready to shop for a new one as soon as he can get his trade-in appraised. The president was purportedly like a kid in a candy store when he toured the luxury-laden aircraft recently. The offer of the gift immediately set him to complaining about the aircraft which currently serve as Air Force One (there is more than one). Even though replacements are in the pipeline, the president is suddenly concerned about the operational costs of his 40-year-old aircraft. The story he is spinning is that he has an opportunity to get a new, ready to use replacement for free. The story gets more complicated with assertions that the aircraft would be given the U.S. Air Force to operate, and ownership would transfer to Trump's presidential library foundation when he leaves office. He is telling us it's a great deal and we would have to be stupid not to accept it.

Not so fast, Impeachment Breath. This "free" 747 is thirteen years old and would have to be literally rebuilt and refitted to bring it up to Air Force One standards. Commercial 747s don't have air refueling capability, state of the art onboard defensive counter measures, or command and control communications suitable for conducting nuclear war. No one has priced it out exactly, but as a guy who is quite familiar with defense contracting, I can tell you the dollar cost would likely exceed the claimed $400M value of the aircraft today. Beyond the cost, there is the lead time. How long would it take to complete such a project? It would be measured in years. It is unlikely it could be finished before the president's term in office is up. So, what would be the point in spending this amount of time and money for an aircraft that would not actually be put into service as Air Force One, only to transfer it directly to the Trump Presidential Library? Is everyone aware that the "Trump Presidential Library" is only a website today and that the "Trump Presidential Library Foundation" of the future will be mainly a fund-raising operation? It will take a lot of donations to keep a 747 jumbo jet in the air.

This, too, will pass. The president is not going to get a free toy from Qatar. Yet, he has won again. Once again, he has distracted us from the important issues, such as how he is recklessly dismantling government agencies, decimating programs meant to assist the sick and needy, putting multiplied thousands of federal employees out of work, enriching himself and his family, and handing the keys to the U.S. Treasury to his billionaire buddies.

We are losing the battle, but can we still win the war? We will have to wait and see.