President Trump attacked Democratic lawmakers for criticizing his upcoming receipt of a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar.
In a Sunday night post on Truth Social, the president dismissed critics of a reported plan for Trump to receive a Boeing 747-8 airplane from the government of Qatar. The plane would replace Air Force One, according to several media reports, and would be kept by Trump’s eventual presidential library after the end of his term.
While the White House did not confirm details about the transaction Sunday, the president confirmed the that Defense Department would receive the gifted plane.
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA,” Trump wrote.
ABC News first reported the pending plane deal ahead of Trump’s visit this week to several nations in the Middle East, including Qatar. Qatari officials told The Hill that the plane would not be given to Trump during the trip.
In a statement to NewsNation earlier Sunday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not confirm the specifics of the deal but said, “Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.”
The reports of the gifted plane sparked criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who called it another example of Trump using the presidency to enrich himself.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, called the reported deal “a grift.”
“Trump must seek Congress’ consent to take this $300 million gift from Qatar. The Constitution is perfectly clear: no present “of any kind whatever” from a foreign state without Congressional permission. A gift you use for four years and then deposit in your library is still a gift (and a grift),” Raskin wrote in a post on X.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a post before Trump’s own remarks, even if it’s not a done deal yet, the fact giving Trump a jet is ‘under consideration’ tells you all you need to know about what countries are being told they need to do to be an ally with America under Trump.”
