On Joe Biden's presidential plane there are card games, knick-knacks, bedding sets, glasses, gold-edged plates and other objects for passengers to use. All with the emblem of Air Force One and with the soul of a souvenir. After taking an inventory in which even the towels given to correspondents were missing, the White House urged journalists to stop stealing these items. The Correspondents' Association was blunt: it is prohibited to take things out of the cabin, it told guests invited by the US presidency on official flights, in an email last month that became known yesterday.
The message said: “if you took something by mistake or accidentally, we can help you facilitate its silent return,” according to the media 'Politico', which even documented one of those deliveries in a public place. In various comments, those mentioned defend themselves by calling the theft “forgetting” or justifying it with “it's common” or “everyone does it.”
The woman behind the email, Kelly O'Donnell, also recommended that journalists buy objects they liked, and that are for sale online. In the official store you can find bomber jackets for 140 euros and “Air Force One luxury gift boxes” with an engraved shot glass, a lanyard, a lapel pin, a golf ball and a towel for 120 euros. A fee costs 20 euros; a t-shirt, 30, and blankets, 130, although they are now on sale for 70. Those who travel, however, say that what they provide is not of the same quality as what is found on board.
Air Force One item for sale: luxury box, towel and cup.
R.C.
Chosen under strict supervision and with the sponsorship of their media, there are not many editors who go with the presidents in the United States, on a plane with capacity for a hundred people, and some are famous for the collection of “souvenirs.” » that he treasures, sometimes from times of different leaders. The official souvenir in recent years is a box of M&M candy, which Biden autographed during this period. Before Reagan, cigarettes were given away. The warning that the group of co-responsible parties has received has been described as “severe.”
Air Force One, in Madrid.
Reuters
At 4,000 square feet, Air Force One is difficult to police to those extremes. It has three floors with a conference room, dining room, presidential suite next to the controls, clinic, kitchen and spaces for security personnel and for the press, who are in line, with 85 telephones and computer connections. It is a military aircraft prepared to resist attacks and repel them. It can be in the air non-stop and refuel in mid-flight. Despite the high cost of maintenance and personnel, the objects destined for the press seem to have made a dent in their finances.
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