NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump, a political newcomer who touts his corporate skills, turned businessman-in-chief Tuesday, first demanding the government cancel a multibillion-dollar order for new presidential planes and then hailing a Japanese company's commitment to invest billions in the U.S.
The celebrity businessman's declaration about Air Force One caused manufacturer Boeing's stock to drop temporarily and raised fresh questions about how his administration — not to mention his Twitter volleys — could affect the economy.
"The plane is totally out of control," Trump told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower, deeming the deal "ridiculous."
"I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."
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Awhile later, Trump returned to the lobby with Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank, a large telecommunications company that counts Sprint among its holdings. Trump pointed to Son's commitment to invest $50 billion in the United States, which Trump said could create 50,000 jobs.
Trump — who also tweeted the deal — shook Son's hand and posed for photos, reveling as he had last week when he toured a Carrier plant in Indiana, where he said he had instigated an agreement that will preserve about 1,000 jobs the appliance maker had planned to move to Mexico.
As for Air Force One, the government has contracted with Boeing to build two new planes, which would go into service around 2024. That means Trump might never fly on the aircraft, which carry U.S. presidents around the globe.
The Air Force has pressed for a faster schedule, saying the aging current Boeing 747s are becoming too expensive to repair and keep in good flying shape. The contract for developing and building new planes was to be about $3 billion, but costs have been reported to be rising. The $4 billion figure Trump cited appears to include operation and maintenance.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.