Muilenburg: Trump tweet on Air Force One 'was the first I heard of it'

When then-President-elect Trump tweeted in December the government should cancel the Air Force One program, Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chief executive, had not been warned of the president's concerns, he said Wednesday.

Speaking at an event hosted by The Atlantic, Muilenburg confirmed the tweet "was the first I heard of it.

"We took that seriously and wanted to find out what was behind it," he continued. "It ended up opening up some communications lines."

At the time, Trump, who took office in January, tweeted the cost of the Air Force One program was "out of control, more than $4 billion."

"Cancel order!" he concluded.

Muilenburg said Boeing was at first stumped by the figure Trump used, given that the company was not yet on contract, but concluded it came "from some government analysis documents."

After the tweet, he said, he and Trump "were able to have a productive conversation."

"We just recently were able to sign a deal where the government purchased two 747-8s . . . and those are the airplanes that will ultimately be modified," Muilenburg added. "We're now underway on the project."