Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, January twenty first, and a developing story while you were sleeping overnight. Air Force one forced to turn around mid flight because of an issue with the plane. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.
Robes.
This happened late last night. I was up late enough and saw it happening late. You had gone to bed a little early. But it's scary anytime you hear that there is an issue with any plane, the one carrying the president certainly sets off some alarm belts.
That's right.
I mean you can say it was, oh, a minor electrical issue, but I would feel like any electrical issue you can call it minor, sounds pretty important to me when it comes to flying a plane, and certainly flying a plane with the President of the United States.
Yeah, tell, this was.
Not a This wasn't an I immediately, I mean it took less than fifteen seconds when I saw this story that I immediately thought about Harrison Ford in Air Force.
One, right, like, what's going on the plane?
There's an emergency. But so they didn't use the word emergency. We should say that first and foremost. But yes, their term in quotes is minor electrical issue with Air Force. One will tell you in a lot of you all know as we are recording this, actually the flight is still in the air. The president is running a little behind. He's supposed to be at the World Economic Forum in Dabbles, Switzerland. That's where he was headed. But Robes he took off.
The flight took off at about nine to forty last night, and it was back in the United States not too long after.
Yes, the minor electrical issue happened thirty to forty five minutes into the flight.
Reporters said that the lights flashed off.
That's got to be a scary moment at any point when you're on a plane, and so they said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution to turn the plane around. They landed in Maryland, I believe at eleven and think about that. Then they had to switch planes, actually get on a smaller plane that's typically used for domestic flights. But this is a seven and a half hour flight, so it looks like they took back off around midnight. That would put him in Davos
around seven thirty am Eastern time. But wasn't he supposed to give a speech at eight thirty am Eastern time.
I mean, it's possible he could shower on the plane, be fresh, walk right off and head to where he's going. But it's possible that's not the case. So as we are recording this, folks, there is uncertainy about exactly how the schedule is going to go for a speech today that is a really really really big deal for what is going on in the world, what he's expected to say, and also ropes who his audience is exactly.
Look, any one of us know what it's like to be three hours late when you thought you were going to rie versus when you actually arrived. But were any of us going to give a speech, be delivering a speech of this significance with the world watching? And frankly, we saw him yesterday touting his accomplishments, celebrating his years since he was inaugurated. He looked tired at noon yesterday, and he was talking and working obviously up until the
moment he got on that plane. And so to have this disruption and to have what's at stake happening today, that's a tall order.
Or is he like the rest of us, the only time you really get good rest is win your own plane, because well he has a little different But I like to of us like what.
I sleep terribly on planes?
Well, no, the.
Idea that you're away from the world a little bit. Nobody's coming by his office constantly, where there's some limits. At least, maybe he gets great sleep. Maybe he'll step off that plane fresh as a daisy and ready to give the best speech. Maybe he has an awakening and it's changing his speech. Who knows what this does, but yes, he is three hours behind schedule as we speak. So we'll keep an eye on and see exactly what's going
on in dabbles for this all important speech. The plane itself. Now, a lot of reports last night robes I was watching, and we have known. We've never been a part of a White House press corps, but they do this. They're on these planes all the time. They know how this works. A lot of them came out immediately that yeah, this
happens all the time. These really are old, old planes, and we regularly have some kind of mechanical issue, a technical this have to switch planes before these planes are forty years old.
That seems surreal when you think about, first of all, how often they're used, how important the people are who they are carrying, and the fact that we wouldn't have newer planes for air Force one is kind of mind blowing.
I heard a politician explain it this way, like, we need them. But what president wants to submit a budget request that says, hey, I want a new plane. It's going to cost this many hundreds of millions of dollars. And what is the other side of the aisle going to immediately do at him? You're suffering at home, you can't afford this, but the president wants a fancy new plane to fly around it. They actually say that's a part of the calculus here, and that nobody wants to ask for a new one.
That makes a lot of sense. It also makes a lot of sense why Trump is the person who.
Absolutely would do that give zero ss doesn't care. And you also think maybe perhaps a president on his second term, any president in his second term might be bold enough or wouldn't care as much about asking for that. And it is actually when you look at an incident like last night, and there are several other to others to talk about, it makes sense. Like a lot of times when we're asked to have American taxpayers pay for something that seems ridiculous.
This doesn't seem that ridiculous.
It's necessary. Yeah, he should have the nicest car, whatever you want to put on it, the best security. That's not I'm not going to argue with you exactly on any of those points. Now, the ballroom.
No, but seriously, that's a really good point.
That bring up the ballroom. But no, this needs to be taken care of. He has two planes, they say, robes that serve as air Force one. Mind you, if the President goes to Atlanta Hartsville Jackson Airport today and gets on a Delta flight in first class, that plane becomes air Force one. Whatever plane is carrying the president does become air Force one. But they use two in particular as air Force one. These are custom made Boeing
seven forty sevens. You can only imagine robes. How these things have to be retrofitted.
What you have to do to security, I can't even get my head around it. What has to be installed on that plane and outfitted to serve as air Force one has to be astronomical. And we've heard about how long it takes. And President Trump has expressed frustration about how long it takes to make a plane ready to be Air Force one.
And you mentioned the I mean the security features, the tech that has to go into it, the communications features, but you also have to consider, Yeah, we have to build a presidential suite onto this thing, to build the cabin for the press a certain way, we have to have this many bathrooms on those, so it's a it's a a conference room that's in the damn thing. So
it takes a while. However, robes these planes were supposed to be replaced two years ago, and now we're being told it'll be another possibly two years before it gets replaced. So it's been pushed back and back and delay after delay, and you know what, God forbid. But something like this is a warning. Can you imagine who is going to take the blame if something happens with Airforce? No, obviously
they're going probably, but they got everything in place. But how can I get mad at the Boeing's What are they gonna say, we didn't tell y'all to use the thing for sixty years?
Yeah that's true.
But it's funny because President Trump has recently thrown Boeing under the bus multiple times, saying why is this taking so long. Yeah, exactly where is my plane? Because it, like you said, it was supposed to be here. Now they're saying twenty I saw twenty twenty eight for both of them. Now, you know how it is when you have any sort of remodeling project or any sort of estimation on construction, it's like, go ahead and double whatever they tell you. The timeline's going to be. That, for
whatever reason, always seems to be the case. And apparently it also is the case for air Force one or outfitting planes.
Air Force one cost overruns, time delays. Anyone who's ever done anything having to do with a contractor.
No, just getting them to show up half the time is hard.
Going to have that, bro. So the planes we're talking about now, the planes that Donald Trump is using, the plane that had to turn around and bring him back last night, is the same plane that carried George Herbert Walker Bush.
That's insane crazy, Since nineteen ninety the same planes Herbert walker Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush, all right, Clinton and then George W. Bush and then President Obama and then President Trump and then President Biden and now President Trump again. That does seem like we are due for another Can you imagine what Trump said. I mean, maybe he was totally calm and cool as a cucumber, but you know how frustrated you get late at night when your plane
gets delayed. And again, never had anything as important as he has in terms of the world stage and Davos.
But like you gotta think he was probably.
A little peeved that almost an hour into his flight he is to turn around, get off the plane, go to another plane.
Donald Trump, do you think he has tolerance for that?
You know what I think, And you know what I think he's figuring out how he can use this now as an example to get what I want. See Tojoe, we need new planes, boom, let me have them. Yeah, so I think he will use this to his advantage. And you know what the other thing about Davos, he's probably thinking.
Yeah, no, wait, actually he'll take a rand entrance this way, wait on me right, fashionably late.
Yes, but folks, stay here though. When we come back, we'll explain why there might be a jet already waiting in the wings to become the new Air Force one, and why this isn't the first time and he isn't the first president who's had to turn his plane around. All right, we continue here on this early morning Amy and TJ overnight stories that Air Force one had to make a turnaround just thirty minutes or so into its flight.
President was heading to Dabbos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, had a not a mechanical but an electrical issue is what they called it, on the plane and they had to turn around out of an abundance of caution. The President's switched planes. He is on his way as of this recording, were not exactly sure when he's going to land and if he's going to have to push back his eight thirty Eastern time speech he was supposed to make.
Yes, it's about a seven and a half hour flight.
The reports show that he finally took off at around midnight, so that would put him landing in Davos just about an hour before his speech.
That seems like a pretty tight turnaround.
But you know, if anyone can do it, he's got probably a very effective presidential motorcade to get him where he's going once he lands.
Oh yeah, that's the other thing. It never stops so that some presidential travel, if any people may know this, the president never stops moving when he's in a car. He's not stuck in a red light ever. Okay, so yes, they.
Can get them there quick sailing to wherever this speech is actually.
But it's funny this.
There was so much talk last year about air Force one and a lot of controversy about where that new plane or that next plane might come from. Because yes, as we mentioned before the break, Boeing has been a little delayed in bringing him his plane and his second plane.
Correct, two planes coming.
Yeah, it's had place, I mean this was oh yeah, here you go. The deal was put in place for those planes when Obama was president. This is where we are.
Yes, I forgot about that is that is insane. I understand a delay. I understand it takes some time, but that's a lot of time.
I mean, I guess it takes time, right to build a plane, and to build a presidential one. I assume it takes we're up to fourteen years now, no, twelve twelve years, that's when it was twenty fourteen. I think it is.
How long did it take to build the World Trade Center?
Uh?
I don't know, but I feel like less time. How long does it take to build a plane.
We should do a deeper die here, but yes, there is a plane that was much talked about, a Katari Jet.
Correct.
We remember the gift that was given that was so controversial that you said, I will take it. I will take it. And it's funny. Actually, Carolyn Levitt, according to reporters last night, as they had.
To turn around d plane get on.
A smaller plane, she joked aboard Air Force one that that Katari jet sounded much better at the moment.
And that's fair, and it's a beauty. There are pictures of it out there. There was a big controversy you mentioned. Is it a gift? Can he accept it? He says he wants to use it after he leaves the White House for donated to his presidential library and use it for his travel afterwards.
Sounds lovely, It sounds awesome.
Somebody gave me a plane. So that's still that plane is sitting there, ready to go, but not ready to go because it has to be updated with all of this tech, all these communications, all of this anti missile equipment.
And defense make sure that there was nothing already on the jet or inside the jet. A lot of people pointed to that the royal family donated this jet to the president and not to throw any shade on the royal family of Cutter, but they have to make.
Sure that it's doesn't have any spyware.
I mean, think about that doesn't have anything that could be on that plane that could.
Jeopardize national security. So that all has to happen.
However, with all of that said, President Trump, you remember, as I I think as recently as August of twenty twenty five, maintained that that plane from the Qatari royal family was going to be ready to go by February of twenty twenty six. So according to the President, and we haven't heard I'd checked to see if he's made any other statements on the timeline of this plane. No, the last we heard from the President that Beauty was
going to be ready to fly next month. So that'll be really interesting to say, see if it actually is ready to fly.
Maybe he's sabotaged Air Force one so he could use this to make his point that he needs that Katari plane immediately.
The timing is quite interesting with all the controversy. Now he has to turn around, there's an electoral issue. The whole press corps has to get off the plane. You know, everybody was inconvenience and wooh, in just a few weeks a shiny new jet from Cutter will be ready to go.
And I hope everybody going to understand this is all dripping in sarcasm. We are just joking. We are not suggesting, for Rio, that the president's sabotage an electrical issue on Air Force one. Just kidding. But he is not the only one. Marco Rubio had an issue last year, had to turn his plane around. Kamala Harris had an issue once, had to turn her plane around. Yes, it happened to Obama as well during his presidency that there was an issue,
had to turn around. None of these were qualified emergencies. I don't believe, just an abundance of caution type thing. But they will tell you, and certainly the ones who fly on these things all the time, this is nothing new. And I guess world is just like folks who fly all the time. Commercially, this happens if you fly enough, you get stuck. The pilot says, wait on some paperwork. They're just checking something out on the right engine. Da da da, You hear something. It happens.
I mean, you know, sometimes the bathroom, the toilet won't flush and you have to turn around and get on a new plane. So yes, anything can happen, and when you travel enough, you will experience sitting on the plane, getting off the plane, waiting for a new plane. The good news is his pilots didn't time out his flight attendants. They didn't have to find new ones like he didn't deal with all the other commercial issues that happen when you have a mechanic a issue more an electrical issue.
So it's good to know that they were ready with another plane.
But yeah, folks want to hop on and give this update developing story overnight. Certainly, keep an eye on our feed today there will be a lot of developments and trials. Also keeping an eye on the president's speech when he does eventually make it. As always, top right corner of your Apple podcast app, where you see our show page, a button says follow click that make sure all of our updates will come directly to you. But for now,
we appreciate you spending some time with us. The morning run will be ready for you here and just a couple of hours look for it on the feed. But for now, I'm TJ. Holmes on behalf of my Jeremy robot. We'll talk to you out