Trump promises to heal divisions, plans visit to Ohio State

Trump on Tuesday said the cost of developing the new Boeing 747-8s that are slated to become the next Air Force One is upward of $4 billion. He estimated the price to be $4 billion, adding: “Cancel order!”

There’s no clear alternative to Chicago-based Boeing to build a new Air Force One, especially not for a president who wants to buy US products.

The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing an initial contract worth $25.8 million to find out how much the final cost would be.

Despite recent revelations that the Pentagon may have been hiding $125 billion in wasteful spending, the Big Three networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) all knocked President-Elect Donald Trump Tuesday for tweeting his disapproval of the $4 billion price tag of two new presidential aircraft. NY time by calling out Boeing Co. over costs to develop new Air Force One jets. Boeing has issued its own statement downplaying the costs, and insisting their contract on Air Force One is just $170 million.

Trump later reiterated his beliefs at Trump Tower, “It’s ridiculous, I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number”.

The planes are still in early design phases, though – much of the money has yet to be spent and has not had a chance to overrun the cost estimates. The company was not told in advance that Trump would tweet about the plane, the people said. If Trump instituted a tariff on China, the country could retaliate by limiting the number of Boeing jets it buys, Aboulafia has said. The planes were built in the 1980s and began flying in the early 1990s. The Air Force awarded Boeing an initial contract worth almost $26 million to reduce risk and lower cost.

But Trump’s tweet was factually incorrect. “The airline manufacturer is also anxious about Trump’s tough talk on China, which is one of Boeing’s largest and most-promising customers”, said Boom Bust co-host Ameera David.

In May 2012, the Congressional Research Service reported that the cost of operating Air Force One is $179,750 per hour, a figure which includes “fuel, flight consumables, depot repairs, aircraft overhaul and engine overhaul”.

Trump himself is using a Boeing 757-200, manufactured in 1991 and heavily modified since.

“The chilling effect on industry is huge, if you are a contractor”, said Franklin Turner, a partner specialising in government contracts at law firm McCarter & English.

Trump sold that stock in June 2016, his spokesman Jason Miller told reporters on Tuesday. That means Trump might never fly on the aircraft, which carry US presidents around the globe.

Trump can not do anything until he is sworn in to office next month.

Defense Department budget documents say that about United States dollars 93 million have already been spent by the Air Force on preparing to build the new jets.

Next Page: Why the Air Force One project is so expensive, and why it needs to go through.

Trump’s campaign did not announce the sell-off at the time, despite the fact that it could have been politically advantageous for the businessman to be seen taking steps to avoid potential conflicts of interest.