President Donald Trump’s plan to display the Qatari-gifted Air Force One at his future presidential library has apparently been scrapped, according to his son.
Eric Trump, who is involved in developing the library complex in Miami, told NBC News by text message that the $400 million jet donated by Qatar last year “is not the plan at the moment” for the library.
Instead, he indicated a retired Air Force One aircraft would be sent there instead, similar to the Boeing 707 displayed at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library.
The reversal contradicts Trump’s own statements from May 2025, when he told reporters the Qatari plane would go “directly to the library after I leave office.”
That leaves open the question of what will ultimately happen to the plane, which remains part of the active Air Force fleet and was used by Trump as recently as July for travel to a NATO summit in Turkey, though he switched to another aircraft when leaving due to security limitations.
The uncertainty has fueled concern among Democratic lawmakers that Trump may seek to keep personal use of the plane after leaving office.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the matter at a recent hearing but received no firm commitment that Trump would not take the jet with him. Murphy and nine other Democratic senators have introduced legislation to keep the plane in the U.S. fleet and to direct a government watchdog to review the donation and any conflicts of interest, though the bill faces long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress.
Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer, said transferring the jet to Trump’s library — a private entity — rather than keeping it in the Air Force fleet could violate the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which bars officials from accepting gifts from foreign states without congressional approval. Keeping the plane within the government fleet, he said, would likely avoid that problem.
The plane, dubbed a “flying palace” for its lavish interior featuring a bedroom, chandelier and lie-flat massage seats, is intended as a bridge aircraft until new Boeing 747s enter service, expected in 2028. Trump has said the jet will undergo security upgrades to be “maxed out” for presidential use.
A White House spokesman did not directly address questions about the plane’s long-term fate, instead praising Trump’s presidency and the planned library. Watchdog groups, including Democracy Defenders Fund, have separately pressed the Pentagon’s inspector general for over a year to investigate the legality of the original gift, without receiving a response.
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