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
Barack Obama 2008 presidential primary campaign on PBS on April 25, spoke to the NAACP in Detroit on April 27 and addressed the media before a symposium at the National Press Club on April 28. In Detroit, Wright "also defended Obama and lashed out at the news media for running excerpts of his heated sermons, media pundits and those who have tried to connect him to Islam because of his full name—Barack Hussein Obama." At the Press Club, Wright said that Obama "had to distance himself from me, because he's a politician." He also suggested that Obama is not a regular attendee at church, and reiterated