Boeing has had six years of production problems, safety issues, delivery delays and unhappy buyers of its aircraft. But President Donald Trump’s anger at the delays for the next generation of Air Force One jets could result in a huge blow to what remains of the company’s prestige and finances going forward.

Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Congress that Boeing needed "tough love" and he would keep in place a cap on production of Boeing 737 MAX planes put in place after a mid-air ...