Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump's trip to North Dakota

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday is taking his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One — a retrofitted Boeing 747 worth $400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency.

Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted to Trump’s preferred color scheme of a navy belly and red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a commander-in-chief’s entourage should have — plush carpets, lie-flat seats, wood paneling and a presidential seal on the seat belts, according to reported tours of the plane.

Trump told reporters that he was proud of the luxurious plane. “You can do two things: You can low-key it, or you can show it,” he said.

The jet is carrying Trump to North Dakota to see the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, its first official visitor ahead of its opening on the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.

“This is a gift from a country that has treated us very well,” Trump said.

The new jet will only temporarily be in the nation’s service, as Boeing is expected to deliver in 2028 long-delayed planes that will permanently serve as Air Force One. Trump, a Republican, has said in the past that the Qatar plane would end up in a presidential library.

The Air Force has said that it did little to change the cabin layout of the plane and that it spent less than $400 million on security upgrades.

The newly designated Air Force One, left, with president Donald Trump on board, takes off on the runway as the old version of the plane is in the foreground, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, July 1, 2026 (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks after touring the newly designated Air Force One presidential aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The newly designated Air Force One is ready as President Donald Trump arrives to board, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers made their first two free-agent moves under new team president Mike Gansey, agreeing to a deal with Knicks center Ariel Hukporti on Wednesday after reaching a deal with veteran forward Dean Wade a night earlier, a person with knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press.

The 76ers added frontcourt depth by picking up Hukporti from the NBA champion New York Knicks, agreeing to a $3.4 million, one-year deal. They agreed to a $39 million, four-year deal with Wade, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deals cannot be signed until the league’s offseason moratorium is lifted on July 6.

Hukporti averaged just 2.2 points in 54 games with the Knicks and will add some frontcourt depth behind two-time NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid and Adem Bona. The 24-year-old Hukporti, who is from Germany, was the final pick of the 2024 draft by Dallas and had his rights traded that night to the Knicks.

Wade was the first big offseason deal made by new 76ers president of basketball operations Gansey. Gansey joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 and worked as their general manager since 2022 before he left for Philadelphia and long championed Wade, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Kansas State.

The 6-foot-9 Wade spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the Cavaliers. He never has averaged more than 6.0 points in a season and is expected to become a key rotation player in Philadelphia.

The 29-year-old Wade has played 32 career playoff games.

He could slot in at forward and join a starting rotation that includes the aging Embiid and Paul George while the Sixers try to build around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Knicks. Daryl Morey was fired in the aftermath of the sweep and replaced by Gansey — who now made his stamp on the Sixers by bringing in a familiar face from Cleveland.

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FILE - Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) goes to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Jan. 19, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)