{"id":42188,"date":"2025-05-12T17:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T22:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=42188"},"modified":"2025-05-12T23:05:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T04:05:15","slug":"trump-goes-on-defense-over-qatar-jet-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=42188","title":{"rendered":"Trump goes on defense over Qatar jet gift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Trump\u2002<\/u><\/a>defended his decision to accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar, calling it \u201cstupid\u201d for him to turn it down amid an influx of criticism from both sides of the aisle over the gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could be a stupid person and say, \u2018Oh no, we don\u2019t want a free plane.\u2019 We give free things out, we\u2019ll take one too. And, it helps us out because \u2026 we have 40-year-old aircraft,\u201d he said Monday<\/u><\/a> morning, referring to Air Force One. \u201cSo, I think it\u2019s a great gesture from Qatar, I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, \u2018No we don\u2019t want a free, very expensive airplane,\u2019 but I thought it was a great gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Boeing 747-8 airplane from the government of Qatar would replace Air Force One and would be kept by Trump\u2019s eventual presidential library after the end of his term. Boeing has had a contract with the U.S. government to build a new Air Force One, but it has been delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-S.D.) acknowledged the delay but did not give his full backing to the offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI understand his frustration. They\u2019re way behind schedule on delivering the next Air Force One,\u201d Thune told The Hill later in the day. \u201cWhether or not this is the right solution \u2026 I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump earlier on Monday lashed out at a reporter when asked for his response to critics who say the luxury jet is a personal gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should be embarrassed asking that question,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re giving us a free jet. I could say, \u2018No, no, no, don\u2019t give [it to] us. I want to pay you a billion or $400 million or whatever it is.\u2019 Or I could say, \u2018Thank you very much.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump also said that the gift is not to him personally but to the Defense Department, while acknowledging that when he leaves office, the plane \u201cwould go directly to the library.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some GOP lawmakers said the administration needs to run the full gamut of legal tests to make sure the idea of him accepting a luxury jet is constitutionally foolproof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think they should run the legal challenges to see [if it\u2019s OK]. I\u2019d be checking for bugs, is what I\u2019d be checking for,\u201d said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-W.Va.). \u201dWe need to look at the constitutionality of it, sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Republicans warned against him accepting such a gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing about getting Air Force One from a foreign government feels right. It may be legal, but I wouldn\u2019t do it,\u201d former George W. Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer posted on the social platform X. \u201cAir Force One should be American through and through. It shouldn\u2019t pass through foreign hands and it shouldn\u2019t be a gift from a King. Don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even one of Trump\u2019s closest allies, Laura Loomer,<\/u><\/a> called out<\/u><\/a> the move as a \u201cstain\u201d on the presidency and said she was disappointed that the president would accept this gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,\u201d Loomer said\u2002on X<\/u><\/a>. \u201cBut, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million \u2018gift\u2019 from jihadists in suits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Democrats made clear their anger and dissatisfaction with the move, arguing that it amounts to blatant corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced on Monday they are seeking a vote on a measure targeting the gift<\/u><\/a> over questions about foreign influence and national security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Constitution is clear: elected officials, like the president, cannot accept large gifts from foreign governments without consent from Congress. Air Force One is more than just a plane \u2014 it\u2019s a symbol of the presidency and of the United States itself,\u201d the quartet said in a statement, arguing that it \u201ccreates a clear conflict of interest and undermines public trust in our government\u201d on top of influence and national security issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one \u2014 not even the president \u2014 is above the law,\u201d they said. \u201cThis week, we will ask the Senate to vote to reiterate a basic principle: no one should use public service for personal gain through foreign gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schatz, who is running to become the No. 2 Senate Democrat, also wrote on X that one does not \u201cneed a law degree\u201d to realize the gift is \u201cwildly corrupt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) derided Trump<\/u><\/a> as a \u201cwannabe king,\u201d saying that the president shouldn\u2019t be accepting gifts from foreign countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president left Monday morning for the Middle East, and he is set to visit Qatar during the five-day swing. And, so far, he has aimed his defense of criticism over the luxury jet toward the media and political opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He blasted Democratic critics<\/u><\/a> on Truth Social on Sunday, saying that accepting the gift \u201cbothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump\u2002defended his decision to accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar, calling it \u201cstupid\u201d for him to turn it down amid an influx of criticism from both sides of the aisle over the gift. \u201cI could be a stupid person and say, \u2018Oh no, we don\u2019t want a free plane.\u2019 We give free things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":42189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1705,4426,23319,1230],"class_list":["post-42188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-defense","tag-jet","tag-qatar","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42190,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42188\/revisions\/42190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}