Qatar’s PM says he doesn’t know why its $400 million Jumbo jet gift is being called ‘bribery’

Qatar’s prime minister doesn’t understand the backlash over its offer of giving a Jumbo jet to the US.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the proposed gift of a Boeing 747-8 jet, worth about $400 million, as “a normal thing that happens between allies.”

“I don’t know why people consider it as bribery or Qatar trying to buy influence with this administration,” he said at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday. The comments were reported by Bloomberg, which is hosting the event.

President Donald Trump said last week that his administration was preparing to accept the gift from the Qatari royal family.

The aircraft would be used as the new Air Force One in Trump’s second term and then added to his presidential library.

Democrats as well as some Trump supporters have criticized the deal, voicing worries about its legality.

Trump defended the move, saying he would be a “stupid person” if he didn’t accept it.

Sheikh Mohammed described the proposed gift as a Qatar “Ministry of Defense to Department of Defense transaction, which is done in full transparency and very legally.”

“Many nations have gifted things to the US,” he said, naming the Statue of Liberty as one.

Sheikh Mohammed added that “we need to overcome” stereotypes of Qatar trying to buy influence in the US.

Trump has said the jet would be a gift to the Department of Defense, not him personally.

The DoD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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