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- Trump floated repainting his private plane to look like Air Force One, per a new book.
- The former president mused flying around in an AF1 look-alike "as a way of taunting" Biden.
- Trump described Air Force One as "his brand," saying, "I don't do the corporate jet thing."
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Former President Donald floated the idea of repainting his private Boeing 757 plane a new paint job to resemble Air Force One and fly it around the country "as a way of taunting" President Joe Biden, according to a new book.
Reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa write that Trump at least one raised the idea to his golfing friends on one occasion in their forthcoming book "Peril," a copy of which Insider obtained ahead of its September 21 release.
"The American people love that plane," Trump mused after one golfing session, according to the book. "I am thinking of getting it repainted red, white, and blue. Like Air Force One, the way I think Air Force One should look."
Trump said the aesthetic of Air Force One is his "brand," the authors wrote, quoting Trump as saying: "I don't do the corporate jet thing. I'm not going to show up in a little Gulfstream like a fucking CEO."
Trump pushed to get the real Air Force One a makeover in red, white, and blue when he was president, with the Pentagon's February 2020 budget request for fiscal year 2021 including a proposed repainting of the plane.
The authors of "Peril" also reveal in the book that Trump was obsessed with the cost, design, and aesthetics of the USS Gerald R. Ford, a Naval aircraft carrier, and frequently lodged his complaints about it in meetings with top military officials including Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"The generals and admirals were horrible businessmen, Trump complained repeatedly, and particularly terrible at acquisition and deal-making on ships, ensuring the military was always being ripped off," the book said.
"I was in the construction business," Trump reminded his military advisers in one meeting recounted the book, saying "I know about elevators," and how they can break "if water gets on them."
Trump was particularly not a fan of the placement of the island, put towards the rear of the ship. Navy officials at least one explained to Trump that the island was put towards the back to make it easier for pilots to land on it.
"It doesn't look right. I have an eye for aesthetics," Trump once told Milley, according to the book, then running his hands through his hair and joking, "Can't you tell?"
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