Air Force One glitch revives replacement push as White House says it 'proves Trump was right again'

Air Force One experiencing minor mechanical issues as President Donald Trump began his trip to Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday evening proved his point that the U.S. needs to update its presidential plane, the White House told Fox News Digital. 

"The minor mechanical issue proves that President Trump was right again," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. 

"The new Air Force One will be a welcome donation to the United States Air Force, not just for the President, but for the entire Air Force One crew," she added. 

The Department of Defense in May 2025 formally accepted a 747 jetliner from Qatar to serve as a new Air Force One, which can serve as a replacement for the two current Air Force Ones. 

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The new jet will be set to take to the skies in the summer of 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, following the Pentagon retrofitting the jet and combing through it for security and spying devices. 

Both Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept the jumbo jet from the government of Qatar in May 2025, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions. 

"The Air Force remains committed to expediting delivery of the VC-25 bridge aircraft in support of the Presidential airlift mission, with an anticipated delivery no later than summer 2026," an Air Force spokesperson told the outlet. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House Thursday for additional comment on the matter. 

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Air Force One experienced a "minor electrical issue" after takeoff at 10:20 p.m. and returned "out of an abundance of caution," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday evening. 

Reporters on the flight said the lights in the cabin went out before the plane returned to Maryland around 45 minutes into the trip. 

Leavitt joked aboard the plane that a Qatari jet sounded "much better" at the moment, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Trump recently left Davos, Switzerland, after attending the World Economic Forum, which attracted foreign government leaders, celebrities and business titans to discuss the world's economy. Trump's trip came as he pressures European nations to ink a deal that would hand control of Greenland to the United States from the Kingdom of Denmark. 

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The plane's issue comes after a yearslong saga by Trump raising concerns that the current presidential plane is decades old and in need of repairs, while pinning blame on Boeing for failing to swiftly build a new fleet. 

"We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One," Trump said during a press conference in May. "You know, we have an Air Force One that's 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it's not even the same ballgame." 

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg acknowledged Trump's dissatisfaction with the speed of building two Boeing 747 jumbo jets in February 2025, and said the company was working to speed the process along. The U.S. government continues to hold a contract with Boeing for the planes, with the Air Force reporting in December 2025 that the first jet should be delivered by mid-2028, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. 

Trump had railed against a government deal with Boeing to build a new fleet of Air Force Ones ahead of his first administration, posting on social media in December 2016 that the "costs are out of control, more than $4 billion" to build the two aircraft.

Fox News Digital's Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.