Donald Trump to accept $400m Air Force One replacement as gift from Qatar
Donald Trump is set to accept a gift from Qatar in the form of a $400 million (£303 million) plane described as a 'flying palace' to replace Air Force One.
According to ABC, the royal family of Qatar have offered Trump a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet which he will be able to use in place of Air Force One, the plane US presidents use for travel.
The outlet also reports that the luxury plane would not belong to Trump's successor once he is no longer president, as ownership would transfer to the Trump presidential library foundation.
The Qatari government has said a final decision on giving Trump the incredibly expensive plane has not been made, but the US president seemed to be eager to take the gift.
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Ranting on Truth Social, he argued that it should be alright for him to accept the gift since it would not cost the US anything.
“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,” Trump wrote.
"Anybody can do that!”
A spokesperson for the Qatari government said that the 'possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s ministry of defence and the US department of defence'.
They said: "But the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made."
Air Force One is technically the name of any plane while the US president is on board, but they generally refer to a pair of Boeing VC-25A planes which are military versions of the 747.
They have been flying for decades now and are up for replacement, and the Boeing 747-8 is the plane that has been lined up as a replacement.
Of course, this being Air Force One there's supposed to be all sorts of other equipment packed into the plane to keep it safe in the skies.
If the plane does end up being gifted then it'll first be given to the United States Air Force so they can fit it with all the equipment that a presidential plane would require.
Trump has previously been on the plane that Qatar may end up gifting him, as he toured the 'flying palace' when it was in Florida in February.
Some of Trump's political opponents are not big fans of the gift, with Democrat Chuck Schumer commenting: "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."
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, World News
Joe Harker