UPDATE: Sunday, May 11, 2025 · 9:30:11 PM +00:00
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xaxnar
Hmmmm. As per this AP News report, it looks like the deal is catching so much flak, Trump may be forced to give up on it. Will he deny it was ever going to happen, or will he complain about how unfairly he’s being treated, and that Biden got away with so much worse?
Either way, he’s not going to be happy.
You can’t make this stuff up.
From The NY Times:
The Trump administration plans to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane as a donation from the Qatari royal family that will be upgraded to serve as Air Force One, in possibly the biggest foreign gift ever received by the U.S. government, a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The plane will then be donated to President Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, the official said, allowing him to continue using it as a private citizen.
The plan raises substantial ethical issues, given the immense value of the lavishly-appointed plane and the fact that Mr. Trump plans to use it after he leaves office. Sold new, a commercial Boeing 747-8 costs in the range of $400 million.
Mr. Trump’s own private plane, known as “Trump Force One,” is an older 757 jet that first flew in the early 1990s and was then used by the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Mr. Trump bought it in 2011. The Qatari jet, if Mr. Trump continued flying it after leaving office, would give him a substantially newer plane for his own use.
You have to marvel at the Times understatement: “The plan raises substantial ethical issues”. Ya think?
Normally this would violate the emoluments clause, but the legal excuse is that the plane is being donated to the Trump Presidential Library.
Another bit of understatement: “The current plan has been signed off on by government lawyers who concluded it does not violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution and that the Defense Department can accept the gift, the official said.”
It would be nice to know who the official is who said this, and who the lawyers are, but that would be telling.
The Air Force will need to upgrade the plane with communications and other military gear.
They will likely also need to figure out how much gold plating can be applied before it becomes too heavy to get off the ground. No word if Trump is demanding an escape pod like Harrison Ford had in the movie “Air Force One.
While the Air Force currently has two 747’s on order to replace the current jets — a ‘deal’ Trump renegotiated — the Qatari ‘gift’ will likely take some time to upgrade, so don’t expect to see it soon.
Trump has vowed to fight inflation — but with this ‘gift’ governments around the world are now faced with a much higher price when it comes to bribing Trump for favors.
There is no word on any specific quid pro quo for Qatar in this deal, but it is unlikely it was done purely out of a desire to spread good will.
Funny how this story is breaking on a weekend, and Mother’s Day too. Think it will make the news cycle on Monday?
The Times linked to an ABC News report for those who want more.
UPDATE: More from the latest at the Times, CREW comments on the story:
“It’s hard to see it as a coincidence when Trump’s company just announced a new golf resort in Qatar, reportedly partnered with a company owned by the country’s government, and will soon be meeting with senior Qatari officials in Middle East trip that also features meetings with heads of state of two other countries he has property developments in,” the spokesman, Jordan Libowitz, said in a statement.
“At this point, it’s impossible to tell the difference between decisions being made by the White House for the good of the country and for the good of the Trump Organization,” he added. “Flying around on a $400 million gift from a country he’s doing business in just raises further questions about where his priorities lie.”
