The president said the plane would be used temporarily.
President Donald Trump on May 11 said the United States is receiving a plane from Qatar that will be used as the new Air Force One.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
He said that it bothered the Democrats, who said that the United States should pay.
“Anybody can do that!” he said.
After ABC News reported that the president was preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the Qatari royal family—to be reconfigured, introduced as the new Air Force One, and used for the rest of Trump’s term—Qatari officials said on Sunday that “the possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense.”
“But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” they added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said before Trump’s post that “any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws.”
Some Democrats raised concerns about the possible gift.
“Accepting a free plane from Qatar isn’t just outrageous, it’s corruption, plain and simple,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) wrote on the social media platform X. “The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution leaves no room for doubt: no President may accept so much as a single benefit, payment, or favor from a foreign government without first obtaining the explicit consent of Congress. Anything less is a flagrant violation of the President’s oath of office and a profound betrayal of the public’s trust.”
The clause states, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
