Some White House reporters appear to have taken away everything from Air Force One as souvenirs, from pillowcases to plates to glasses, prompting a warning from reporters’ organizations to stop this practice.
In an off-the-record email sent to members of the White House Correspondents Association last month, elite journalists were reprimanded for stealing various items bearing the logo of President Biden’s official plane.
The association, headed by NBC News senior White House correspondent and veteran journalist Kelly O’Donnell, wrote in a statement that such items are prohibited from being taken off presidential planes, negatively impacting the entire press corps. Warned officials. the BBC said.
The White House has long handed out small boxes of M&Ms emblazoned with the presidential seal to reporters traveling on Air Force One, perhaps in an attempt to obtain unauthorized souvenirs. The aim was probably to curb the impulses of reporters.
The tradition began in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan, replacing cigarette packs with the presidential seal that had been the standard giveaway for decades.
But apparently the sweet treats weren’t enough for some reporters, and over the years they’ve collected a presidential garage sale’s worth of items, from towels to cutlery to engraved whiskey tumblers and wine glasses. He is said to have stolen the. politiko Said.
O’Donnell alerted his colleagues after a recent trip to the West Coast aboard Air Force One, where the crew inspected the plane’s inventory and noticed many items in the press room were missing. .
However, the tone of the email sent by the association was not accusatory, and seemed to offer a reprieve that there would be no harm if the lost item was returned, according to four people who received the letter. This was reported as a personal story.
One of the reporters who received the email later admitted that he had gotten off the plane with an official Air Force One pillowcase, but it was quietly returned.
Politico described the sensitive exchange in which the wiry reporter met with White House staffers in Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square, by the statue of Andrew Jackson, and handed over the looted linens.
Air Force One has been the official call sign of the US presidential aircraft since 1953. Since 1990, the president’s fleet has included his two Boeing 747-200B aircraft with a dizzying array of capabilities, many of which are classified.
Air Force One has 4,000 square feet of interior space and can accommodate up to 70 passengers and 26 crew members, according to the White House. This includes two food preparation galleys that can accommodate up to 100 people and a complete medical station with operating table.
The military aircraft is built to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion and can be refueled mid-flight.
