Topline
Congressional lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties raised both legal and ethical concerns about the White House’s plan to use a gifted luxury plane from Qatar as an Air Force One replacement, despite President Donald Trump’s insistence that turning down a free plane offered by a foreign nation would be “stupid.”
President Donald Trump has argued that turning down a free plane offered by Qatar to replace Air … More
Key Facts
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said, “I’m not flying on a Qatari plane…I don’t know how you make it safe…“I don’t want the president of the United States flying on an unsafe plane,” as he accused the country of supporting Hamas.
Appearing on Fox News on Monday night, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. expressed concern on whether the U.S.’s ability to judge Qatar’s human rights record would be “clouded” by the gift and said it was simply “ not worth the appearance of impropriety, whether it’s improper or not.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., did not outright criticize the plan but told reporters he thought it would be “better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., urged the White House to examine the constitutionality of the transaction and said, “I’d be checking for bugs.”
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How Have Senate Democrats Reacted To The Qatari Jet Gift?
Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Chris Coons, D-Del., said they plan on forcing a vote on the Senate floor to censure the president’s plan to accept the $400 million jet from Qatar. Schatz wrote in a post on X: “You don’t need a law degree to know that Trump accepting a $400 million luxury plane from a foreign government is wildly corrupt.” Booker tweeted: “Accepting a private jumbo-jet from a foreign nation is a clear violation of our Constitution, which plainly prohibits U.S. officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments.” In a post on X, Coons pointed out that the Trojan Horse from Greek mythology “was a gift, too,” and said Trump’s decision to accept the jet was “appalling.” Murphy wrote on Bluesky that he would “block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump,” and noted that this includes Qatar’s jet gift and the UAE’s “investment in Trump crypto.” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., another key Trump foe, wrote on Bluesky: “The president considers it a great imposition to ride on Air Force One. Poor thing. It lacks the amenities of an ‘air palace.’ He says he’d be ‘stupid’ to turn it down, which is how he views abiding by the Constitution.”
Surprising Fact
The plan to accept a jet from Qatar has also come under criticism from some prominent online right-wing pundits, who have been among Trump’s most vocal supporters. Laura Loomer tweeted: “I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits. The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members.” Fox News host Mark Levin reshared Loomer’s tweet, writing “Ditto.” In the latest episode of his podcast released on Monday, Ben Shapiro pointed out if the story had involved former President Joe Biden or his son Hunter “conservatives would be screaming.” “conservatives would be screaming.” The right wing commentator said the accepting this gift would undermine Trump’s “agenda and credibility,” and “even if it’s not criminal, it’s bad optics.” He noted: “If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff must stop.”
Key Background
On Sunday, several outlets reported on the Qatari government’s plan to gift a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane to the Pentagon, which will be modified to serve as the presidential jet, Air Force One. After being used by the president during his term, the plane would then be donated to Trump’s presidential library just before his term ends. On Monday, Trump told reporters gift from Qatar was a “great gesture,” and he would be a “stupid person” to “say ‘I don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’” as he reiterated complaints about Boeing taking too long to build new planes to serve as Air Force One. Both the White House and the president insisted he would accept the gift in a “very public and transparent transaction.” Trump also confirmed that the plane would be donated to his presidential library before the end of his term, but dismissed ethical concerns on the matter, saying he does not plan to use the plane personally after leaving office.
Further Reading
Trump Says He Won’t Use Luxury Plane From Qatar After Leaving Office—Here’s What We Know (Forbes)