President Trump is airing grievances with Boeing over delays in delivering new Air Force One jets, telling Republican governors on Thursday he was “getting a little tired” of the hold up.
“I bought a plane. It’s really two planes, Air Force One. Now if Boeing would build the damn thing it would be nice, too. We don’t build like we used to. We don’t build too fast,” Trump said at a reception for the Republican Governors Association.
“I gave the order out about six years ago. They’re still waiting. Getting a little tired of it,” Trump added.
It marked the second consecutive day that Trump complained about the company’s slow delivery of the presidential planes. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One late Wednesday that he was “not happy with Boeing.”
The president said he would not consider buying jets from Airbus, though he acknowledged the administration was looking at alternatives, including buying a plane from another country.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump had directed billionaire ally Elon Musk to explore options to force Boeing to move faster, including potentially relaxing security standards for some who work on the planes.
Trump negotiated a roughly $4 billion contract with Boeing during his first term, and he had floated changes to the exterior design of the iconic plane. But Boeing is at least three years behind schedule in delivering the jets, and the project is more than $2 billion over budget.
