Trump Is Poised to Accept a Luxury 747 From Qatar for Use as Air Force One

The Trump administration has proposed accepting a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft as a donation from the Qatari royal family, which would be upgraded to serve as Air Force One. This potential gift would be one of the most significant foreign donations ever made to the U.S. government, according to several American officials familiar with the matter.

Once the plane has been refurbished, it is planned to be donated to President Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office, according to two senior officials. This raises the possibility that Trump could continue using the aircraft even after his presidency ends.

President Trump confirmed his anticipation of receiving the aircraft in a social media post on Sunday evening, following a day of controversy. Even some Republican figures privately questioned the wisdom of the plan, while Trump responded by suggesting that Democrats were “losers” for questioning the ethical implications of such a move.

In his post, Trump explained: “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 wrote. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!”

While a Qatari official described the proposal as still being under discussion, and the White House insisted that it would adhere to all relevant legal protocols regarding gifts, Democratic lawmakers and good government groups expressed significant concerns over the ethics of the plan. They pointed to the intersection of Trump’s official duties with his business interests in the Middle East, the considerable value of the aircraft, and the assumption that Trump might still have access to it after leaving office. A new commercial Boeing 747-8 has an estimated price tag of $400 million.

Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, criticized the move, stating, “Even in a presidency defined by grift, this move is shocking. It makes clear that U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump is up for sale.”

Trump’s personal aircraft, “Trump Force One,” is a much older Boeing 757 that was purchased in 2011 and was previously owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. If the proposed Qatari jet were to be donated to Trump’s library and he continued to use it post-presidency, it would provide him with a much newer plane for personal use.

ABC News reported on Sunday that the announcement of the plane’s donation was imminent, especially as Trump was preparing for his first extended foreign trip of his presidency to three Middle Eastern nations, including Qatar. The acquisition of the Qatari jet would also address the president’s longstanding desire for a new Air Force One, after the delays in the government’s contract with Boeing to provide two new jets for this purpose.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement affirming that “Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency.”

If the U.S. government does indeed accept the aircraft as a gift and eventually passes it along to Trump’s presidential library, this would represent a significant example of how Trump has further blurred the lines between his personal business and presidential duties in his second term. Critics had already accused him of using his properties for government business during his first term, and the last few months of his presidency have seen numerous deals involving a cryptocurrency firm, further eroding traditional presidential norms.

While two senior U.S. officials confirmed that the plane would be accepted as a gift for government use, a spokesperson for the Qatari government, Ali Al-Ansari, refuted reports that the plane would be donated during Trump’s upcoming visit, calling such claims “inaccurate.” He clarified that the potential transfer of the aircraft is still being considered by Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, and that the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments. No decision has yet been made.

A White House official echoed this by confirming that the plane would not be presented or accepted in the coming week. Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense declined to comment on the matter.

Trump had previously toured the Qatari-owned 747, which is just over a decade old, at Palm Beach International Airport in February. At that time, reports indicated that the jet was being considered as a possible replacement for Air Force One.

One senior U.S. government official explained that the Department of Defense had concluded that it could accept the plane. Furthermore, two individuals familiar with legal discussions within the White House and the Department of Justice mentioned that they had determined it would be legal for Trump’s library to receive the plane as a gift. These individuals, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that the aircraft would be retrofitted by L3Harris, a military contractor based in Texas, to meet Air Force One’s security requirements. If the transfer of the plane proceeds, this modification would likely be completed by the end of the year, allowing Trump to use it while still in office.

The terms of the contract with L3Harris were not immediately clear, and a Defense Department official stated that no agreement had been made regarding the contract to retrofit the Qatari 747. The Air Force would not be able to make the necessary security upgrades until the plane was officially transferred to the U.S. government.

Although the modifications required to bring the plane up to Air Force One standards would take years to complete, some have suggested that the Qatari plane could be more easily converted into a modified version of Air Force One, potentially speeding up the process.

Frustration with the delays surrounding Boeing’s new Air Force One jets has been a long-standing issue for President Trump, especially since the current Air Force Ones are more than 30 years old and require frequent repairs. Trump renegotiated the Boeing contract during his first term and has been eager to use the new planes during his presidency.

The Trump administration also explored the possibility of acquiring the Qatari aircraft as a potential alternative to the delayed Boeing jets, which could serve as leverage to accelerate Boeing’s work.

The ethical concerns raised by the Qatari donation are expected to follow a pattern set by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which received a retired Air Force One from Reagan’s administration. However, Reagan did not continue to use the plane after it was retired, and it was displayed in the library as part of the museum exhibits.

Some reports suggested that the Qatari government initially proposed donating the plane immediately to Trump’s library for use during his presidency. However, this suggestion was ruled out by government lawyers, who determined it would violate the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prevents government officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without Congressional approval.

If the deal goes through, the ethical concerns surrounding it will undoubtedly continue to generate controversy. Critics, including government watchdog groups, have pointed out that Trump’s business interests in Qatar and his upcoming meetings with Qatari officials further complicate the situation, suggesting that Trump’s personal and presidential interests may be too closely intertwined.

The plan to accept the Qatari plane has also drawn harsh criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Senator Adam B. Schiff of California. Both have argued that Trump’s actions represent brazen corruption and a violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause, calling for greater transparency and Congressional oversight of the deal.