Democrats blast President Trump over plans to use gifted Qatari luxury jumbo jet as the new Air Force One, while the president defends the move as a free alternative to aging fleet of presidential jets.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed reports that he will receive a luxury jumbo jet from the Qatari royal family during his visit to the oil-rich Gulf state later this week, with plans to use it as the new Air Force One.
On Sunday, ABC News reported that the Trump administration is set to receive a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet with a lavishly designed interior as a gift from Qatar.
With estimates of the aircraft’s value given at around $400 million, it could be the most expensive gift ever received by an American president.
A spokesman for the Qatari government in the U.S., Ali Al-Ansari, downplayed the claim, calling the ABC News report “inaccurate,” saying that no final decision had been made on the possible gifting of the plane.
“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Al-Ansari told Politico.
Democrats were quick to pounce on the reports, calling the gift an act of bribery by a foreign government to the president of the United States.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted. “It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
California Senator Adam Schiff, a prominent critic of Trump, called the gift a “brazen” example of corruption.
Trump defended his plans to accept the gift, and confirmed that Qatar plans to offer it, in a post to his Truth Social account.
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”
According to Sunday’s report, Trump is planning on using the 13-year-old 747-8 aircraft as the new Air Force One through the remainder of his presidency, at which point it will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation.
At present, the U.S. has a fleet of multiple Boeing 747-200Bs to serve as Air Force One; the call sign for whichever aircraft is carrying the president at any given time.
The aging fleet of aircraft currently used to transport the president include planes that have been in service since 1990, with the planes frequently taken out of rotation due to increased maintenance demands.
While a replacement aircraft has been ordered from Boeing, it is not slated for delivery until 2027 at the earliest.
The Trump administration had initially planned to buy the Qatari aircraft, dubbed the “palace in the sky,” Axios reported Monday, but during negotiations over the price, Qatar eventually decided to offer the plane as a gift to the president.
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