US President Donald Trump has defended the White House plan to receive a luxury jumbo jet from Qatar to be used as America’s Air Force One presidential plane.
“They’re giving us a gift,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, adding that he would be “a stupid person” if he did not accept it.
In an earlier statement, a Qatari spokesman said it would be “inaccurate” to refer to the plane as a gift. He said the transfer of an aircraft for “temporary use” was under discussion between the two countries.
The news comes as Trump is set to visit Qatar this week as part of the first major foreign trip of his second term.
Speaking on Monday, Trump said that the US had helped the other country “a lot over the years in terms of security and safety” and that he had “a lot of respect for the leadership” of the country.
He went on to say it would be a “very nice gesture” if Qatar provided the US with a Boeing jet while his government continued to wait for two new ones to be provided directly by Boeing itself.
The potential value of the plane and its handling has raised legal and ethical questions among critics, notably Democratic lawmakers.
The US Constitution has a provision known as the Emoluments Clause, which restricts what gifts US presidents can accept from foreign governments. It was designed to prevent leaders from becoming beholden to foreign governments.
On social media, Senator Adam Schiff from California quoted a section of the US Constitution that said no elected official could accept “any present… of any kind whatever” from the leader of a foreign state without congressional approval.
Congressman Ritchie Torres called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate, saying the plane could “constitute the most valuable gift ever conferred on a president by a foreign government”.
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer, a longtime Trump ally, also criticized the move. She posted to say she would “take a bullet” for the president, but that any decision to accept the jet would be “such a stain” on the administration.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday that “any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency”.
The White House’s current fleet includes two Boeing 747-200B planes customized for presidential use with special communications equipment and features like a stateroom, office, and conference room. The planes have been in use since 1990 and 1991.
Qatar is said to be offering a version of a Boeing 747-8, a much newer model that ABC News reports has been upgraded into a “flying palace”.
The post Qatar wants to give Donald Trump a jumbo jet as a “gift” first appeared on The Yucatan Times.