Even President Donald Trump’s most loyal MAGA cheerleaders are taken aback by reports that he’s accepting a jet as a gift from Qatar.
The royal family of the Middle Eastern nation is gifting President Trump a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to serve as his new Air Force One, ABC News reported Sunday. But the gift is raising eyebrows among some of the president’s fiercest supporters.
Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and Trump adviser with increasing sway over the president’s decisions, expressed her disappointment on X.
“I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade,” she said. “This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true … I’m so disappointed.”
I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million “gift” from jihadists in suits. The Qataris fund the same Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered US Service Members. The same… https://t.co/V4kzJpCsRk pic.twitter.com/HqVztPfZZ3
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) May 11, 2025
It appears Loomer’s concern isn’t so much about the ethics of Trump accepting such a lavish gift, but rather its source. The gulf nation has financial ties to Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, and has been accused of funding Hamas and Hezbollah, which are considered terrorist organizations by the United States.
Mark Levin, a Fox News host and Trump ally, avoided calling out the president by name but blasted Qatar on X, saying the country “cooperates with Iran and its proxies” and “funds terrorism.”
“Their jet and all the other things they are buying in our country does not provide them with the cover they seek,” he said.
Meanwhile, Democrats, who have long accused Trump of blurring the lines between public service and personal profit, are decrying the gift as outright corruption. Trump reportedly plans to transfer the roughly $400 million plane to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation shortly before leaving office.
“This isn’t a good idea even if the plane was being donated to the U.S. government. But Trump GETS TO KEEP THE PLANE???” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wrote on X. “It’s simply a cash payment to Trump in exchange for favors. Just wildly illegal.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) called the gift a “grift,” reminding Trump that the Constitution prohibits federal officials from receiving personal gifts from foreign heads of state without the consent of Congress.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, blasted the gift as “farcically corrupt.”
“Congress must not allow this over-the-top kleptocracy to proceed,” he wrote on X.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but NO, Donald Trump cannot accept a $400 million flying palace from the royal family of Qatar.Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional.Congress must not allow this over-the-top kleptocracy to proceed. https://t.co/G4KE3rJcVc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 11, 2025
Meanwhile, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) is demanding an investigation into reports that Trump intends to accept the plane. The president toured the luxury jet in February.
“The American people are witnessing, in real time, what can only be described as a ‘flying grift,’” Torres wrote in a letter addressed to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Office of Government Ethics and the acting Department of Defense inspector general.
Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar. It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom. pic.twitter.com/oBqgHbikHf
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 11, 2025
Sources told ABC that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer, David Warrington, concluded that the gift is “legally permissible” because it’s not being given to an individual but to the United States Air Force, and later to the presidential library foundation. And they argue that it does not constitute a bribe because the gift does not hinge on an official act.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who flamed Donald Trump for saying the 2020 election was stolen, blasted the jet deal and pointed out that Republicans spent years probing Hunter Biden’s art sales for potential influence-peddling.
“Didn’t Hunter Biden once sell a painting and get investigated for four years?” Kinzinger wrote on X. He also dismissed the idea that Trump’s luxury jet would simply be handed over to his library after leaving office.
“Of course he will use it,” he continued. “The evil, sick, corrupt, fat, smelly grift is out of control.”
Didn’t Hunter Biden once sell a painting and get investigated for four years?This is sick. And despite saying it will be then “donated to his library” of course he will use it… so it’s donated to him.The evil, sick, corrupt, fat, smelly grift is out of control. https://t.co/5RUg8Yrunn
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@AdamKinzinger) May 11, 2025
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