Beware Qataris bearing a 747 gift

He wants to accept a jet as Air Force One, then transfer it to his presidential library foundation.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Picture: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Trump confirmed Monday he intends to accept a luxurious jumbo jet as a gift from the royals of Qatar, and he argued only a “stupid person” would refuse such an offer. “They’re giving us a free jet,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “I could say, ‘No, no, no, don’t give us—I want to pay you $1 billion, or $400 million, or whatever it is.’ Or I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”

When Middle Eastern emirs offer the President a nine-figure gift, what comes to mind isn’t thrift. Mr. Trump is upset by Boeing’s delays in delivering a new Air Force One, and he wants to convert the Qatari plane for official travel. The Pentagon would manage the plane as an official U.S. aircraft. Then, at the end of his second term, he plans to transfer the 747 to his presidential library foundation.

Mr. Trump said Monday he “wouldn’t be using it” after he leaves office, citing the Reagan library, which has a retired Air Force One on display. But it isn’t hard to imagine Mr. Trump deciding in 2029 to fly it around for a few more years. And the savings Mr. Trump touts are a rounding error on the federal budget.

Taking the Qatari gift could also be a legal morass. The Constitution prohibits anyone holding a federal “Office of Profit or Trust” from accepting “any present” or “Emolument” from a foreign state, unless Congress approves. During Mr. Trump’s first term there was inconclusive litigation over whether that clause was triggered when other governments booked hotel rooms and so forth at Trump properties. We were skeptical of those arguments, but a donated 747 from the royals of Qatar is a much bigger deal.

Media reports say White House lawyers think accepting the jet wouldn’t constitute bribery, since the offer isn’t contingent on any official action by Mr. Trump. Maybe so, but “sometimes the scandal is not what is illegal but what is legal,” as our friends at the New York Sun put it.

Qatar might feel that it’s owed at least Mr. Trump’s goodwill. If the emir calls the White House to share his views on Iran, Israel and the region, won’t he expect the President to pick up the phone? Should voters even have to wonder? It demeans the Presidency to have a foreign government handing out such a valuable gift to America’s elected leader.

This isn’t France offering the Statue of Liberty for public display and enjoyment. By the way, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1877 authorizing and directing the President to accept that statue, in recognition of French friendship and America’s centenary.

Mr. Trump’s plan to take the Qatari jet is a political gift to Democrats. The GOP objected, rightly and loudly, to Hunter Biden’s influence peddling abroad while his father was in high office, followed by his selling art at inflated prices while President Biden sat in the White House. Now the Trump family is making much money in opaque sales of crypto-coins, while Mr. Trump says it’s simply good sense to accept a free jumbo jet from Qataris bearing gifts.