US President Donald Trump has indicated he is ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a present from the ruling family of Qatar during his upcoming trip to the Middle East this week.
As US officials say the jet could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft — the famed Air Force One, questions arose over what would constitute an immensely expensive gift donated from a foreign government to a serving official.
While the Qatari government said a final decision hasn't yet been reached, Trump defended the idea as a fiscally smart move in a post shared on his Truth Social platform Sunday.
“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,” said Trump, adding “anybody can do that.”
According to ABC News, the US president would use the aircraft as his plane until right before he leaves office in January 2029 — when ownership would be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library.
Qatar’s media attaché, Ali Al-Ansari, said that a decision had not yet been reached, while “the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments" of Qatar’s Ministry of Defence and its US counterpart.
According to ABC, officials from the Trump administration have prepared an analysis which demonstrates that accepting the plane would be legal.
However, the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause bars anyone in government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “king, prince, or foreign state” without congressional consent.
Gift now up in the air?
The US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer poked fun at Trump's “America first” political slogan, stating “nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar."
“It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom,” added Schumer.
Other lawmakers also expressed dismay online, noting that an aircraft being offered by a foreign government could present security risks if used by a US president.
The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology.
They also include a variety of communications systems which allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director for the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said such a gift would be “unprecedented".
“The totality of gifts given to a president over their term doesn’t get close to this level,” Libowitz said.
