President Donald Trump seems to be obsessed with Qatar’s offer of a $400 million plane and the subsequent blowback.
Since it was first reported on Sunday that the Qatari royal family is considering gifting the Trump administration a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, both Democrats and MAGA loyalists alike have criticized the proposed gift as ethically suspect, legally questionable, and a potential security risk.
But Trump keeps defending the proposed gift in numerous posts on Truth Social and in a Tuesday night conversation with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“There are those that say we shouldn’t be accepting gifts in the Defense Department, and I would say only a stupid person would say that. Why wouldn’t we do that?” Trump told Hannity aboard Air Force One on Tuesday during his trip to the Middle East, where he’s visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
If the deal goes through, Trump has said the aircraft would be temporarily used as Air Force One during his remaining time in office before being donated to his presidential library. Though the exact value of the specific jet in question — which is 13 years old, ABC News reported — isn’t clear, a new 747-8 jumbo jet fetches a whopping $400 million.
“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. He continued, “Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country.”
Trump also re-shared multiple posts from supporters commenting on the plane late Tuesday (or very early Wednesday morning for Trump, with one post coming at 4:05 a.m. local time), including one in which a Truth user compared the plane to the 1886 gift of the Statue of Liberty from France and the 1880 gift of the Resolute Desk from Queen Victoria.
There are a few differences between those gifts and the Qatari plane.
For one, the Resolute Desk has remained in the White House to be used by future presidents, including Trump, and the Statue of Liberty is located on public land and managed by the National Park Service.
Under federal law, members of the executive branch must disclose gifts from foreign governments that are worth more than $480.
The Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966 governs the receipt of gifts taken in by federal officials, and its passage by Congress was aimed to avert conflicts of interest.
Presidents are permitted to retain gifts to be showcased at their future presidential library. However, if a president hopes to keep a gift for personal use, they must reimburse the fair market cost for the item.
The Air Force One plane used by Ronald Reagan and several other presidents is currently exhibited at Reagan’s presidential library and museum in California, but that plane has been decommissioned and was never again used. It’s not clear if the Qatar plane would be decommissioned before being gifted to Trump’s presidential library, but Trump has said he would not use it after his time in office.
The proposal has reignited the longstanding debate over emoluments and the fight that many lawmakers have taken up over the years to ensure that presidents aren’t profiting from their perch in the Oval Office.
In the US Constitution, there are emoluments enshrined into law that aim to shield the presidency from outside influences — which includes foreign governments.
Article I states that governments cannot accept gifts from any “King, Prince, or foreign State” in the absence of congressional approval. And in Article II, a president’s compensation can’t be raised or lowered during their time in the White House.
Qatar’s media attaché to the US, Ali Al-Ansari, told BI in a statement that the transfer of the aircraft is “currently under consideration.” The matter “remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Al-Ansari 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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said in a statement to BI.
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