With the Air Force slipping into Doha today, it’s easy to imagine President Donald Trump having a case of jealousy.
Hamad International Airport in the capital of Qatar is sometimes home to the $400 million "Sky Palace" which is the luxury liner Trump is paying attention to. The royal family in Qatar plans to send the plane to Trump as a temporary replacement for the aging Air Force One, and then replace the plane with his future presidential library after he leaves the office. At a tarmac welcoming ceremony held by Trump’s second stop in the Middle East trip, Qatar planes were in Texas, not Doha. But questions about the safety and ethics of gifts have been cast on the shadows throughout the week.
Trump has privately defended the acceptance of the Katari aircraft as a replacement for the current Air Force One, which dates back to 1990. He told aides and advisers that the U.S. president was "humiliated" in an outdated plane and foreign leaders would laugh at him, and if he showed up on a private plane on an elderly plane, he would laugh at him, and said with our external adviser: Trump also muses on continuing to use the Katari plane after leaving the White House.
But in a very few moments of contempt, some of the loudest calls for protests about possible gifts came from some of Trump’s most determined allies. “I think if we change the name to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’re all scared on the right.” Daily wire The co-founder said in the podcast. "President Trump promised to drain the swamp. In fact, it's not flooding the swamp."
Even in Washington, the current capital now has a once-unimaginable scandal, and the idea of accepting the jet is jaw-dropping. Trump's second administration once again demonstrated its disregard for norms around elected offices and traditional legal and political guardrails, a truly massive scale. Trump's team said the gift would be legal because it would be donated to the Department of Defense (and then to the Presidential Library). But federal law prohibits government workers from accepting gifts of more than $20 at any time for anyone. Retired General Stanley McChrystal, who once commanded the U.S. military in Afghanistan, told us that he could not “take lunch on the capital grille.” Former federal employees have similar reactions on social media.
Retired Air Force Colonel Moe Davis wrote on X: “Those of us who serve in the military cannot receive a cup of coffee and donuts on the contractor’s website.
The Air Force One is the most famous aircraft in the world, and it is a symbol of instant recognition of American power. Not only that, it is the White House in the sky, where there are enough top-notch security and communication equipment to run the government when needed. Notably, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, it gave President George W. Technically any aircraft on the Presidential Commission to receive the iconic Air Force One call sign. But when most people think of this plane, they imagine the highly modified Boeing 747-200B aircraft, its Kennedy-era light blue, gold and white color scheme. (There are actually two identical versions of the plane, one of which is usually used for extra personnel on long distance travel. The smaller version is also used in airports for short runways in China.)
Allowing foreign governments to provide signature American aircraft makes many not only unpatriotic, but also an outrageous security risk. Despite improvements in U.S. relations with Qatar, especially Doha became a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war, the Gulf states previously supported terrorist groups. To be swept away listening equipment and raise U.S. military standards, Qatari aircraft may have to be dismantled, inspected and rebuilt, a arduous process that will take years and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Boeing was supposed to replace last year's Air Force One, but the massive delays cost the aircraft manufacturers billions of dollars in damage to the project. The White House estimated last month that a new plane would not be ready until 2029. Boeing recently said it aims to be 2027.
For some in Maga World, Trump's decision to accept aircraft from the Gulf nation is the opposite of his "America First" foreign policy. This also clashed with his economic agenda, bringing manufacturing and projects back to the United States. Laura Loomer's influence on Trump led to the recent removal of the National Security Council, which he exploded and posted on X: "If that's true, it will indeed be a taint to administrators. I say, as someone who will bring bullets to Trump. Mark Levin is another influential conservative voice, who replied: "Ibid.".
Trump’s desire to accept the extravagant gift of Middle Eastern power has put Congressional Republicans in an awkward but familiar position of defending the actions made by the Democratic president. Some people criticized the idea. "I certainly have concerns," Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told CNBC. Cruz said he was "not a fan of Qatar", warning that the plane posed a "significant espionage and surveillance problem". Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, also made an argument about this politics "Just like the United States enters the Qatar Embassy."
Others showed a more willingness to break with Trump than usual. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley borrowed the president's description of his economic policy and told reporters: "It would be better if Air Force One was a large, beautiful aircraft made in the United States of America." Florida Senator Rick Scott said more bluntly Mountain: "I'm not flying on a Qatar plane. They support Hamas." Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis was asked by a reporter in the Capitol Corridor whether it would be a good idea to accept the jet.
Republican leaders, however, have not shown that they plan to launch any aggressive, lengthy investigations similar to their foreign entanglement of Hunter Biden or earlier times Hillary Clinton. Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to distinguish between the secret deal of the “Biden Crime Family” and the seemingly more transparent deal of Trump. "Whatever President Trump does is in public," Johnson told reporters this morning. "They are not trying to hide anything."
The spokesperson barely pretended to cover up the fact that a Republican-controlled Congress was unlikely to investigate the Republican president, no matter how suspicious their actions were. Republican leaders’ investigations into Bidens and Clintontons constitute a solemn responsibility for the legislative branch, but Johnson’s speech today sees Congress’ oversight role as an afterthought. “I have to care about running the House, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “Congress has oversight responsibility, but as far as I know, ethics follow everything.”
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, announced that he would put aside the presidential Justice Department nominee until a possible deal is reviewed.
Trump seems to think there is no problem with accepting gifts. He called the journalist a "stupid person" questioning its appropriateness, adding: "I will never refuse such a offer." Before the locals arrived in Doha, local time in a truth-clarifying social position in Saudi Arabia, he wrote: "Why should our army, as well as our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for free." He added: "Only one fool would not accept this gift on behalf of our country."
As I sought further comments from the White House, a spokesperson pointed me to the position of the president. Trump has been frustrated with the current Air Force alone for years and believes the new version (the first term in his tenure) will prepare for his second.
Over the years, the vast majority of Republicans have chosen to ignore Trump’s efforts to use the presidency to enrich themselves and their families. Despite the promise, the president never issued his tax returns during his first term, nor completely divested his business (his two eldest sons just took over the day-to-day operations). Trump has ignored the Constitution's Emer's clause, which prohibits elected officials from accepting gifts from abroad, triggering multiple lawsuits. Perhaps his most frustrating example of paid is the Trump International Hotel, in the towering old post office building just a few blocks from the White House. When a foreign delegation comes to visit Washington, a great way to get a curry with the CEO is to rent a house in a hotel. Whenever he spends a weekend at one of his own resorts, taxpayers’ money flows into the Trump family’s safe, where he asks staff and Secret Service agents to stay.
The Trump International Hotel was held four years later, but the president's efforts to make a profit have become more blatant. His business has issued cryptocurrencies through a pair of “meme coins” and an exchange called World Liberty Financial, which issues its own tokens, just as Trump has the ability to back crypto-friendly legislation. The auction involving one of the meme coins ends this week, with the top holders of the coins winning dinner and a private tour of the White House with Trump. American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency company backed by Trump's son, will soon be released, meaning investors at home and abroad will be able to dump funds into the company.
Trump aides this week when the president was in the Middle East, Trump aides focused on the business deals reached - the White House announced today a $1.2 trillion deal with Qatar, including a deal for Arab countries to buy $96 billion in Boeing jets - towards Iran's nuclear deal and a core deal encountered in Gaza. But the trip once again sparked business ties between the Trump family, linked to the land covered by his “America First” rhetoric. Trump arrived in Qatar two weeks after his son Eric Trump signed a deal to establish a $5.5 billion golf club north of Doha. The Trump Organization has also secured new deals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and another has stopped during a presidential trip.
"If he could get a plane, he would laugh at his way to the bank," former Trump official Anthony Scaramucci told us. "But I think it's just red herring to disperse the bigger things he's doing for himself."