 "The motorcade of US President Donald Trump is parked next to a 12-year old Qatari-owned Boeing 747-8 that Trump was touring in West Palm Beach, Florida, February 15, 2025. File Image/Reuters")
The Trump administration’s plan to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft from Qatar raising constitutional and transparency concerns.
Critics argue that the deal blurs the lines between public service and private benefit, and could potentially violate the US Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.
Valued at approximately $400 million, the plane — one of the most expensive gifts ever proposed to the United States by a foreign government — is intended to be temporarily used as a presidential aircraft and then transferred to Trump’s presidential library upon completion of his term.
A gift from Qatar or a strategic partnership?
According to US officials familiar with the matter, the aircraft, owned by the Qatari government, was offered as a donation to the US Department of Defense for temporary use as Air Force One.
A final decision has not been made, and a Qatari spokesperson, Ali Al-Ansari, stated that “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 US Department of Defense,” adding that “no decision has been made.”
The Qatar-owned aircraft is reportedly similar to another Qatari 747-8 model that Trump toured earlier this year in February while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport — just minutes away from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
White House officials at the time said the tour was conducted to help Trump better understand how the new generation of Air Force One aircraft would be outfitted.
ABC News first broke the story of the proposed donation, which Trump appeared to confirm in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social:
“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.”
Why this is raising ethical questions
While Trump and administration officials have defended the proposed arrangement as a cost-saving measure for taxpayers, experts in government ethics have sharply criticised the plan.
Many argue that accepting such a valuable item from a foreign power — especially one with whom the president’s family has business interests — represents an unprecedented ethical breach.
AP quoted Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law, who stated that Trump appears “committed to exploiting the federal government’s power, not on behalf of policy goals, but for amassing personal wealth.”
The Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts, payments, or titles from foreign governments without explicit approval from Congress.
Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), raised concerns about whether the gift violates this clause: “This sure looks like a foreign country that the president has personal business dealings in giving the president a $400 million gift right before he meets with their head of state.”
He added, “We’ve never seen something on the level of a $400 million plane. It is a scale well beyond anything we’ve ever seen before.”
Even Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer weighed in with a scathing comment on the situation, “Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar. It’s not just bribery, it’s premium foreign influence with extra legroom.”
The president is scheduled to visit Qatar as part of a wider trip to West Asia that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Although the jet will not be formally accepted during his visit, the timing of the negotiations has heightened scrutiny of Trump’s ties to the region.
How Trump’s business interests look towards the Gulf
Critics have also pointed out Trump’s long-standing and expanding business ventures in the Gulf region. The Trump Organisation, now managed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has pursued a number of partnerships in that region — including a deal with Qatari Diar, a real estate firm owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, to construct a luxury golf resort.
During Trump’s first presidency, his administration’s stance on Qatar shifted noticeably. Initially backing a blockade of Doha by neighbouring Gulf nations, Trump later praised the country and displayed improved ties.
This evolving relationship has raised additional questions about whether foreign policy decisions are being shaped by financial entanglements or personal benefit.
While the Trump Organisation claims to have separated business dealings from foreign governments through a voluntary ethics agreement, critics point out that the document still permits deals with private foreign entities — a change from its earlier policy during Trump’s first term.
What history tells us
To preempt legal objections, the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice are reported to have conducted an internal legal review. According to ABC News, their analysis concluded that the US Department of Defense could legally accept the plane as a gift and later transfer it to a private foundation that oversees presidential libraries.
The Trump administration has pointed to the Reagan precedent, where Ronald Reagan’s retired Air Force One was ultimately displayed at his presidential library.
But critics argue the comparison is flawed: Reagan never personally used the plane after leaving office, and it was never a gift from a foreign government.
Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst, remarked on the broader symbolism of the issue, writing on X: “Air Force One is a (checks notes) Air Force plane. A military aircraft. It’s not intended to be a palace because the US doesn’t have a king.”
Former government officials have also warned that a foreign-made aircraft, even one modified for presidential use, could pose risks in terms of security and reliability.
A former US official who had been briefed on the matter said that while countermeasures and secure communications systems could be added quickly, the plane would still lack many of the capabilities built into the existing Air Force One fleet — including nuclear and EMP shielding , and aerial refuelling features.
What’s with the Air Force One delay
Trump has long expressed dissatisfaction over delays in delivering two newly ordered VC-25B aircraft — Boeing 747-8 planes specifically commissioned to serve as the next generation of Air Force One.
Currently two exist, and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old, reported AP.
Originally slated for delivery in 2024 after a deal struck during Trump’s first term, the jets have now been delayed until at least 2027, according to recent congressional testimony from a US Air Force official.
The Qatari aircraft, if accepted, would reportedly serve as a stopgap measure. Trump is expected to use the plane during his presidency until the official VC-25Bs are ready. Once his term ends in January 2029, the plane would then be donated to the institution managing his future presidential library.
Still, watchdog organisations continue to warn that bypassing Congress in accepting such an extravagant gift from a foreign power sets a dangerous precedent.
Libowitz from CREW stated that, “The totality of gifts given to a president over their term doesn’t get close to this level.”
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With inputs from agencies