Let's be honest -- President Donald Trump loves and appreciates nice airplanes, and the current Air Force One jet, in his opinion, just isn't cutting it anymore.

According to the New York Post, in an interview aboard Air Force One with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump stressed the importance of the United States having the biggest, most impressive presidential jet, adding that the current one is just not up to par anymore. 

In the same interview, the president defended against the onslaught of liberal media criticism over his acceptance of a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 airliner that will serve as a temporary stand-in while the next generation Air Force One is still under construction.

Trump noted that the current Air Force One is nearly 40 years old, and that it's time to modernize it.

What did he say?

The president said that it simply boils down to his opinion -- shared by many -- that the most powerful nation on Earth have the most impressive plane.

"The plane that you are on right now is almost 40 years old," Trump told Hannity on his way to the Middle East for his first international trip during his second term in office.

"And when you land and you see Saudi Arabia and you see [the United Arab Emirates] and you can see Qatar and you see all these – and they have these brand new Boeing 747s, mostly, and you see ours next to it – this is like a totally different plane."

"It’s much smaller. It’s much less impressive, as impressive as it is,” Trump said of the plane he was on, which is a modified Boeing 747-200B aircraft that has been around since 1990. "And you know, we’re the United States of America – I believe that we should have the most impressive plane."

The president's acceptance of the "flying palace," a luxury Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by the Qatari royal family, has caused a whirlwind of controversy across Washington D.C. in recent days.

The Post noted:

Trump, 78, confirmed Sunday that the US would receive the $400 million “flying palace” Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar’s royal family “free of charge,” and that he planned to use the luxurious aircraft as an interim presidential plane while Boeing completes the next-generation Air Force One fleet following years of frustrating delays and cost overruns.

It's a "gift"

The plane from Qatar is reportedly a "gift" from Qatar's royal family. Trump explained how it was presented to him.

We would like to make a gift. You’ve done so many things. And we’d like to make the gift to the Defense Department,’ which is where it’s going,” Trump said of how the offer was presented to him. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s nice.’”

The president added that he believes the criticism over the deal is silly, and the plane is being accepted as a temporary replacement while the new Air Force One is being finished, which could take several more years.

"Some people say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country.’ My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept a gift? We’re giving to everybody else, why wouldn’t I accept a gift?” Trump told Hannity. "Because it’s going to be a couple of years, I think, before the Boeings are finished."

Some of Trump's Republican allies have also soured on the idea of the gifted plane. Only time will tell how it all shakes out, politically.