Boeing VC-25 entered into a contract to purchase two of a bankrupt Russian firm's (Transaero) undelivered 747-8 Intercontinentals from Boeing, which is storing them in the Mojave Desert to prevent corrosion. These aircraft are to be retrofitted with telecommunications and security equipment to bring them to the required security level for the presidential aircraft. On 27 February 2018, the White House announced a $3.9 billion agreement with Boeing to modify two unsold 747-8s to replace the current VC-25A fleet. The new aircraft will be designated VC-25B. They are due to be delivered by 2024. The VC-25 "Air Force One" is a prominent
President Barack Obama (painting) use of bushes in the portrait. President Barack Obama (painting) President Barack Obama is a 2018 portrait of Barack Obama by the artist Kehinde Wiley for the National Portrait Gallery. In October 2017, it was announced that Wiley had been chosen by Barack Obama to paint an official portrait of the former president to appear in Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery "America's Presidents" exhibition. The painting depicts Obama sitting in a chair seemingly floating among foliage. The foliage is described by the author as "chrysanthemums (the official flower of Chicago), jasmine (symbolic of Hawaii where the president spent most of his