Donald Trump is trying to justify being gifted a brand new private jet from Qatar because Air Force One is a “much less impressive” plane than the ones dictators use.
The president is being slammed after reports surfaced Sunday that he planned to accept a $400 million “flying palace” from the Qatari royal family. If the plane, which is a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet, is in fact given to Trump, it would be one of the largest gifts from a foreign government to a U.S. government in history.
Speaking to Fox News’s Sean Hannity from Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump argued that Air Force One is “almost 40 years old,” and nowhere near as cool as the planes used by monarchs in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
“This is like a totally different plane. It’s much smaller, it’s much less impressive—as impressive as it is. We are the United States of America. I believe that we should have the most impressive plane,” Trump said.
“Some people say, oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country,” he continued. “My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept a gift? We’re giving to everybody else, why wouldn’t I accept a gift?”
But the plane is much more of a personal gift to Trump himself than to the people of the United States, whose tax-paying dollars could end up funding the president’s “free” gift.
In a press conference Monday, Trump told reporters the plane would be a temporary replacement for Air Force One, and would go directly to his personal library once he leaves office. It’s an admission that clearly violates a 1966 law preventing presidents from keeping personal gifts worth more than $480 (they can accept gifts worth more, but cannot keep them after leaving office).
“A gift you use for four years and then deposit in your library is still a gift,” Representative Jamie Raskin wrote on X.
In other words, accepting the jet is pretty blatant corruption.
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