Biden Cracks Joke About Boeing-Made Air Force One: 'I Don't Sit By The Door'

President Joe Biden laughed about Boeing BA aircraft on Thursday at a campaign reception in New York.

What Happened: “I don’t sit by the door,” Biden laughed in a discussion with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

He was responding to a question from moderator Stephen Colbert on whether the doors of Air Force One stay on during flights. The aircraft operated as Air Force One and modified for presidential transport is manufactured by Boeing.

"All three of you have been on Air Force One. You still have the keys, Mr. Biden. That's made by Boeing, right? Do those doors stay on? Before you get on, do you send [over] Pete Buttigieg with a socket wrench set to tighten them?" Colbert posed to the president, referring to the incident from January when a door plug panel on a Boeing aircraft flew off.

Biden later clarified that he was only kidding and added that he would not be changing the colors of the presidential aircraft to a darker red, white, and blue as proposed by former President Donald Trump.

Colbert also chimed in to clarify despite his joke that Boeing is a “fine American company.”

Why It Matters: In January, a door plug panel flew off an Alaska Airlines plane manufactured by Boeing soon after take off. The incident forced the pilots to make an emergency landing.

Since then, Boeing has been at the receiving end of severe regulatory scrutiny including from the Justice Department. Boeing said earlier this week that its CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of the year. The company also appointed Stephanie Pope as the new head of its commercial airplanes division, replacing Stan Deal.

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