The Department of Defense has officially accepted Qatar’s gift of a Boeing 747 once used by the country’s royal family, intended to serve as Air Force One through the remainder of President Trump’s second term. This move has riled up the loudest policy wonks on all sides of the aisle, but we’re not here to talk about taxes or emoluments or any of that. We’re here for the plane, baby, and to talk about the big question surrounding its donation: How many bugs is this thing going to have in it?
The DoD has promised “proper security measures” will be taken with regard to the plane, according to the Associated Press, a process that experts say could take years and cost as much as a billion dollars. That retrofit will likely include a full sweep for any kind of recording or listening devices, but how many do we think will actually be found? Six? A hundred? There’s no way to tell, but speculating is very fun.
When will this question hit Polymarket?
Personally, I’m more interested in the bugs that the DoD doesn’t find. I was always a big DC Spy Museum kid, and a plane the size of a 747-800 must have innumerable places that a bug could be hidden, disguised as normal plane equipment. These planes have miles of wiring, and I for one wouldn’t be able to tell a genuine Boeing junction box from one installed by the Qatari royal family to listen in on the Trump administration. I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell through a pair of beer goggles, so Pete Hegseth has his work cut out for him.
Of course, one has to wonder whether bugging the Trump administration is even necessary. We’re talking about a President who owns his own social network and posts with the frequency of an unemployed podcaster — what thoughts are we all really missing out on? Sure, a foreign nation would probably rather play it safe than sorry by absolutely filling that plane with bugs, but the return on investment isn’t exactly guaranteed.
Still, it’s fun to wonder. Personally I’m betting on bugs in the cockpit, all up and down the main cabin, and up on the second deck. If you’re not sure exactly how the plane’s interior will be laid out after its retrofit, it’s in your best interests to simply spam listening devices everywhere possible — the zerg rush approach to espionage. My bet on the final number is somewhere in the mid-60s, but it could be far higher than that. What do you think?