President Trump confirmed reports on Sunday that his administration is planning to accept a luxury jet, a Boeing 747-8, from the Qatari government.
Trump insisted the gift would be received by the Defense Department “in a very public and transparent transaction,” as he pushed back on criticism from Democrats who described the arrangement as a grift.
The luxury jet would temporarily replace Air Force One and then be transferred over to the Trump presidential library at the end of his term. Boeing has had a contract with the U.S. government to deliver a new Air Force One jet, but it’s been faced with a host of delays.
News of the deal, first reported by ABC News, has sparked a range of responses from lawmakers and media pundits.
And Trump has continued to double down on his defense of the deal.
Here’s the latest on Qatari plans to gift a luxury jet to the Trump administration:
Trump says he’d be ‘stupid person’ if he says no
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump defended the prospective transaction with Qatar, saying it would be “stupid” for him to turn down the gift, which he called a “great gesture” from the Arab nation.
Trump said the Qataris knew the delivery of a new Air Force One jet was delayed and they wanted to help out because “we’ve helped them a lot over the years in terms of security and safety.”
“They said, ‘We would like to do something,’ and if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” Trump said.
He added, “Now, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things out, we’ll take one too. And, it helps us out because … we have 40-year-old aircraft. The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy top is astronomical. You wouldn’t even believe it. So, I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar; I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,’ but I thought it was a great gesture.”
Trump said he thinks Qatar made the gesture because he has “kept them safe,” adding, “If it wasn’t for us, they probably wouldn’t exist right now.”
Trump faces criticism from close supporter
Trump has continued to face criticism over the luxury plane gift.
Even one of his staunchest supporters, conservative commentator Laura Loomer, said she expects the gift to be a “stain” on Trump’s legacy.
“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” Loomer wrote in a post on X. “But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.”
“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true,” Loomer said. “I’m so disappointed.”
Loomer, who has faced backlash in the past for spreading anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, blasted the arrangement as a move that would run contrary to the push to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist organization.”
“It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar,” Loomer wrote. “The biggest lobby in DC is the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time.”
Democrats sound alarm
Democrats have taken their criticism even further.
A handful of Senate Democrats are trying to force a vote a measure “to reiterate a basic principle: no one should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts,” according to a statement from Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
“The Constitution is clear: elected officials, like the president, cannot accept large gifts from foreign governments without consent from Congress. Air Force One is more than just a plane — it’s a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself,” the senators said in the statement, arguing that it “creates a clear conflict of interest and undermines public trust in our government” on top of influence and national security issues.
“No one — not even the president — is above the law,” they added.
On the other side of the Capitol, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) called for an ethics review in response to reports of the plans for Qatar to gift the luxury plane to Trump.
“The American people are witnessing, in real time, what can only be described as a ‘flying grift,’” Torres wrote in a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) comptroller general, the Defense Department (DOD) acting inspector general, and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) acting director.
Torres asked in the letter for the officials to conduct “an immediate ethics review” of the gift; “issue a formal advisory opinion on whether the gift violates federal ethics regulations
and the Emoluments Clause”; and “recommend policy reforms to prevent the conversion of foreign gifts into private property by current or former presidents.”
He also raised concerns that the gift comes from Qatar.
“Just as troubling as the gift itself is the identity of the benefactor. Qatar is not a neutral party on the world stage. It has a deeply troubling history of financing a barbaric terrorist organization that has the blood of Americans on its hands,” Torres said in the letter.
“In the cruelest irony, Air Force One will have something in common with Hamas: paid for by Qatar,” he added.
Emoluments Clause highlighted
News of the planned gift has driven attention back to the Emoluments Clause, which is a provision of the Constitution that aims to preserve the president’s independence from outside influences, including from states and foreign governments.
The Emoluments Clause in Article I of the Constitution says no public officeholder may “accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent.
Some Democrats have pointed to this clause as they’ve criticized the transaction.
“Trump must seek Congress’ consent to take this $300 million gift from Qatar,” Raskin wrote on X on Sunday.
“The Constitution is perfectly clear: no present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state without Congressional permission,” Raskin continued in his post. “A gift you use for four years and then deposit in your library is still a gift (and a grift).”
