Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Over the weekend, news broke that Donald Trump was poised to accept a luxury Boeing 747 jet from the Qatari royal family, which would likely be the most expensive gift from a foreign government to an American president in the nation’s history. Though accepting a gifted jumbo jet would be a security and ethical minefield, Trump has defended the agreement as a logical solution to Boeing’s delay in fulfilling its contract to replace the aging Air Force One fleet.
“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 mean, 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 told reporters during an unrelated press conference at the White House Monday.
Though Trump has singled out Democrats as the main critics of his interest in the luxury jet, calling them “World Class Losers” in a TruthSocial post on Sunday, some of the strongest backlash to the president’s deal with the Qatari royal family has come from those within his own party.
A number of congressional Republicans have expressed their misgivings about Trump’s intent to accept the jet. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia senator, told CNN that the White House needs to be certain of the “constitutionality” of accepting such a gift and also raised the specter of security concerns. “I’d be checking for bugs is what I’d be checking for,” she said.
During an interview on Fox Business on Monday, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky said he was against the gift, noting that the United States frequently does arms sales with Qatar and that accepting the jet would likely make it harder to be objective about those agreements in the future.
“I do think the jet probably sends the wrong signal to people and I don’t like the look or appearance of it, so I would hope he would reject it,” Paul said. “The Constitution specifically says you can’t take gifts from foreign leaders.”
Senator Rick Scott of Florida also appeared against accepting a gift from Qatar, saying he wouldn’t want to see the president flying on an unsafe plane. “I’m not flying on a Qatari plane. They support Hamas,” he said, per The Hill. “I don’t know how you make it safe.”
Ohio Representative Warren Davidson seemed to allude to the controversy on social media, comparing the matter to past concerns he had surrounding Hillary Clinton and potential political corruption.
“I recall trying to rally support for a thorough investigation of the Clinton Foundation. It seemed odd that a Secretary of State / Senator / First Lady / Presidential candidate could collect hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign governments with no corruption. The appearance of corruption alone screams, ‘Bad idea!,’ he wrote. “My views have not changed. At a minimum, ‘Bad idea!’”
Though Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri didn’t outright condemn the gift, he did appear to signal a personal preference on the matter. “Well, I think it’d be better if it were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America,” he said, per ABC News.
It’s not just politicians who are side-eying the luxury gift from the Qatari royal family. Members of the conservative and MAGA media circle, some of Trump’s most loyal and vocal supporters, have also voiced their own doubts about the move.
Political commentator Ben Shapiro criticized the prospect of Trump accepting the gift, saying on his podcast that conservatives would rightfully denounce similar behavior from Democratic politicians. “I think if we switch the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right,” Shapiro said, per Axios. “If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop.”
Laura Loomer, a notorious conspiracy theorist and one-time constant presence in Trump’s inner circle, referenced longheld beliefs that Qatar funds terrorist groups, writing on social media that the United States “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. And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed,” she said.
At least one member of Congress appeared to embrace the frugality of the move, providing it clears all legal barriers. “Free is good. You know, we don’t have a lot of money right now to buy things like that,” Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama told CNN.
