‘Insane’: Trump supporters shocked after reports emerge that he’ll accept new Air Force One from Qatar
The revelation that Donald Trump is poised to accept an expensive gift from another country has shocked even his own supporters.
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US President Donald Trump is reportedly poised to accept a $625 million luxury plane from the Middle Eastern kingdom Qatar, which he then intends to convert into a new version of the presidential jet Air Force One.
The 747-800 plane, known colloquially as a “floating palace”, would then be donated to Mr Trump’s presidential library and, potentially, used as his personal plane after he leaves office in January of 2029.
The aircraft in question was previously owned by Qatar’s royal family, and reportedly makes heavy use of gold in its interior, which does align with Mr Trump’s preferred decor, to be fair. The estimated value of $625 million does not include the suite of expensive upgrades it will require, particularly regarding security, to function as the President’s plane.
Mr Trump has an imminent four-day visit to the Middle East scheduled. Qatar is one of his planned stops, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. There are suggestions the gift will be announced during that stop – unless Mr Trump backs away from it.
This comes a fortnight after Mr Trump’s family business the Trump Organisation, led by his son Eric, announced a lucrative deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, to be developed by two companies, one from Saudi Arabia and the other from Qatar itself.
It’s part of a broader $8.5 billion development project.
The Department of Justice, specifically Mr Trump’s appointee as Attorney-General Pam Bondi, and the White House counsel’s office, which advises the President on legal matters, have both determined it would be legally acceptable for Mr Trump to accept the plane.
“Both the White House and DOJ concluded that because the gift is not conditioned on any official act, it does not constitute bribery,” America’s ABC News reported today.
“Bondi’s legal analysis also says it does not run afoul of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts because the plane is not being given to an individual, but rather to the United States Air Force and, eventually, to the presidential library foundation.”
Nevertheless, concerns are being raised about the ethics, and inherent potential for corruption, of Mr Trump profiting personally from his position.
Qatar, for its part, has claimed today’s reporting is “inaccurate”, though in a statement it confirmed that the idea was being considered by both countries.
“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defence,” the Qatari media attache to the United States told Politico.
“But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.”
‘Corruption in plain sight’: US conservatives horrified
Much of the criticism of this move, today, has cited a part of the US Constitution known as the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits American federal government officials from accepting any “present, emolument, office or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign state”.
That clause was designed to guard against corruption.
The Trump administration’s argument here, should the deal happen, will undoubtedly be that Qatar is giving the plane to the Defence Department, not to Mr Trump personally. That might be undermined, though, if the President does indeed intend to keep using it as his personal, private plane after leaving office.
Mr Trump’s political opponents, the Democrats, have been predictably critical.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” said the Democrats’ Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer.
“It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
“The corruption is brazen,” said Mr Schumer’s Senate colleague Adam Schiff.
Longtime national security reporter Barbara Starr expressed “curiosity” in how, exactly, the refitting of Qatar’s plane to suit its new duties as Air Force One would work.
“Did the Pentagon give the Qataris all the highly classified engineering and drawings for AF1 defensive systems that will have to be installed?” she wondered.
“Much is built into the body of the plane. Not exactly aftermarket floor mats.”
But the discomfort is not just coming from Mr Trump’s natural political opposition. In this case, it is unusually bipartisan.
“This isn’t an administration that cares about optics, but telling American families they don’t need many dolls and need to sacrifice, then pivoting to needing a new 747-800 from a nation that has funded the murder of Americans, is going to be problematic,” said conservative radio host Erick Erickson.
“The Qatari government is not our friend, cooperates with Iran and its proxies, and funds terrorism and pro-terror propaganda around the world.”
He was alluding to recent remarks, by Mr Trump, in which he defended the potential economic pain caused by his tariffs by arguing Americans do not need to buy so much “junk” from overseas.
“A young lady, 10-year-old girl, 9-year-old girl, 15-year-old girl, doesn’t need 37 dolls. She could be very happy with two of three or five,” the President told reporters.
“I’m just saying, they don’t need to have 30 dolls. They can have three,” he said at another point, during a TV interview.
“They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.”
Sure. Anyway, back to the plane.
“It would be like if a top business in Ukraine gave Hunter Biden a plane, only it wasn’t a business, it was the government itself. And it wasn’t Hunter Biden, it was Joe. And it didn’t happen when Joe was out of office, but when he was actually president,” said Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark.
He described it as “open, in the air corruption”.
Conservative writer Jonah Goldberg echoed that, saying it “sure appears to be corruption in plain – and plane – sight”.
Mark Levin, another prominent name on the roster of America’s conservative radio hosts, noted that Qatar has already sought to purchase influence in American institutions, though to be fair he did seem less troubled by its efforts to influence the President.
“There are new reports that Qatar is buying us a jet. Who knows. But Qatar must stop buying our colleges and universities and spreading their anti-American, Jew-hating propaganda,” said Mr Levin.
“Their jet and all the other things they are buying in our country do not provide them with the cover they seek. It is a terror state. That is beyond dispute.”
Maria Medvin, a conservative lawyer turned media star, urged Mr Trump to “stop playing footsie with Qatar”.
“No. This is insanely dangerous,” she said.
“Just handing our national secrets straight to Qatar.
“The only gift we should be accepting from Qatar is the gift of them no longer harbouring and enabling terrorists.”
Laura Loomer, a notorious conspiracy theorist who has nevertheless managed to become a close adviser to Mr Trump, was scathing.
“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But I have to call a spade a spade,” said Ms Loomer.
“We cannot accept a $US400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits. The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US servicemembers.
“This is really going to be such a stain on the administration if this is true. And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”
Originally published as ‘Insane’: Trump supporters shocked after reports emerge that he’ll accept new Air Force One from Qatar
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