Anchor Katy Tur and an MS NOW panel spent Wednesday poking holes in President Donald Trump's explanation for his abrupt Qatari jet switcheroo.
After flying the Qatari-gifted jet to the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump announced he'd take the old Air Force One home instead.
Trump had hyped the roughly $400 million jet Qatar gave the U.S. for weeks, only to post on Truth Social that the plane would peel off to a base in England so American troops could tour it. Pressed on why he wasn't flying it home, he didn't answer. Trump sidestepped questions on whether the change stemmed from security fears tied to Iran, instead talking up how dangerous the presidency is and repeating that he tops Iran's kill list.
The MS NOW panel was skeptical of the explanation.
A baffled Tur exclaimed, "What?" after rolling a clip of Trump's fumbling explanation. "He's sending his much ballyhooed jet, the one that the American taxpayer spent at least another $400 million on to retrofit, maybe more, on a solo trip so troops in the U.K. can get a look? Does anyone buy that? Or is there something more to what that Post reporter was asking just then? Something about the security of that plane?"
Former CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta said a maintenance problem made little sense for a brand-new plane.
"This is a cover story of some kind," he said, arguing the move was meant to protect the president's security so close to Iran.
New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker agreed the answer wasn't persuasive, noting the rapidly retrofitted jet may lack the missile and electromagnetic-pulse protections a standard Air Force One carries.