The United States is getting ready to accept a jumbo plane as a gift from the royal family of Qatar to replace Air Force One, which Boeing has failed to deliver on schedule. President Trump supported this move.
During Monday morning’s news conference on medicine costs, Trump expressed his disappointment with Boeing’s delayed construction of a new Air Force One. Our Air Force One is forty years old, you know. Look at it in comparison to the modern plane of the same, you know, size back then; it’s a whole different ballgame.
“When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built,” said he. They had initially consented, but I took it over from Obama’s administration. Much lower, I managed to get the pricing. Then, once the election didn’t go as planned, the plane was understaffed as many individuals were unaware that they could issue change orders. That was really foolish and absurd. It became an absolute disaster in the end.
On Sunday morning, rumors began circulating that the royal family of Qatar was planning to present the Trump administration with a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo airplane. The president will reportedly utilize the plane until the conclusion of his presidency, after which he would donate it to his presidential archive, according to ABC News.
While slamming Democrats as “world class losers” for questioning the donation, Trump verified on Truth Social on Sunday night that the 747 will be given to the Defense Department.
“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,” he said. I mean, anybody can do it! The Democrats are the worst in the world! “Ma ga.”
During Monday’s news conference, he elaborated on his earlier claim that he was notified by his administration that the building of two new Air Force Ones was “way behind” schedule upon his January return to office.
We can help the Defense Department out for a few years while they build the rest of the planes if we can acquire a 747. It was a really thoughtful gesture, in my opinion. It would be foolish of me to respond with, “Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.” When you offer us something for free, we’ll take one or two since it benefits us. Because, once again, we are dealing with an airplane that is forty years old. Additionally, he referred to the expenditure on jet maintenance as “astronomical,” and he praised the donation as a “great gesture from Qatar.”
On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed concerns about the Qatari royal family’s donation of a Boeing jumbo jet to the US Department of Defense, stating that the donation is being reviewed legally to ensure compliance and that there will be no exchange of favors.
During Monday morning’s “Fox & Friends” segment, Leavitt announced that the Qatari government has generously volunteered to give an airplane to the Department of Defense. “The specifics of that matter are still being resolved in terms of the law. Donations to our government are always made in accordance with the law, and we pledge to be completely transparent in all of our dealings.
Leavitt denied that the United States government was concerned that receiving the donation would set a precedent where Qatar demands anything in return.
“Absolutely not because they know President Trump, and they know he only works with the interests of the American public in mind,” said Leavitt.
The present would be the most costly ever received by a U.S. president, according to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who on Sunday sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office demanding an ethics probe into the matter.
“I am writing to express alarm over reports that President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury aircraft — a Boeing 747-8 — from the government of Qatar,” said Torres. “The plane, so opulent it has been described as a ‘palace in the sky,’ is set to be made available to President Trump for official use as Air Force One and then for private use once he leaves office.”
“This ‘flying grift’ is merely the latest chapter in a tawdry tale of presidential profiteering unprecedented in American history,” said Torres.
Presidents have, for decades, reclassified presents they receive as gifts to the office of the president, thereby evading the Emoluments Clause, which forbids federal elected officials from taking gifts from foreign governments or monarchs. After leaving office, these gifts are carefully documented and preserved as part of the president’s library.
The president does not officially own the books in his library, but he does have limited access to them. To acquire private ownership, he must first buy them from the federal government.
Leavitt assured Fox Digital in an early Monday morning reply that any gifts received by foreign governments would be lawful and transparent.
“Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,” stated Leavitt. “President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.”
On his way to the Middle East, Trump will likely meet with regional leaders in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. A member of Trump’s administration has assured AWN Digital that the president would not be presented with or accepted the jet during his foreign tour.
There are two planes in the present Air Force One fleet that are over 30 years old and have been considered for replacement since the Obama administration or before.
During his first administration, Trump passionately opposed a federal contract with Boeing to construct a new pair of Air Force Ones, writing on social media in December 2016 that the “costs are out of control, more than $4 billion” to construct the planes.
Boeing was given a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract to produce two new planes in 2018 by Trump. However, the jets won’t be ready until 2029 at the earliest.
“Boeing is proud to build the next generation of Air Force One, providing American Presidents with a flying White House at outstanding value to taxpayers,” Boeing announced in 2018 following a deal-making session with Trump over the building of the additional fleet. “President Trump negotiated a good deal on behalf of the American people.”
“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,” Ali Al-Ansari, the Qatari ambassador to the United States, told ABC News.
President Trump’s own Boeing 757 plane, Trump Force One, has been his mode of transportation when he is not in office. Many campaign events included that plane, which is notably decorated with Trump’s surname.
