Current Events > Trump Set to Accept Luxury $400 million Jet as Gift From Qatar

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-administration-luxury-jet-qatar-air-force-one-1235336629/

The Trump administration is getting ready to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar to replace Air Force One until Donald Trumps second term ends, when ownership of the plane will be shifted to his presidential library foundation, ABC News reported, citing sources familiar with the agreement.

Trump is scheduled to visit Qatar next week where the gifted plane which has been described as a flying palace worth $400 million is anticipated to be announced. If the deal goes through, it would be the most expensive gift ever offered to the United States by a foreign government. Trump personally toured the plane in February when it was at West Palm Beach International Airport.

The emoluments clause of the Constitution bars federal officeholders from accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State without approval from Congress. But administration lawyers have given the gift the green light.

Per ABC News sources, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Counsel David Warrington determined it is legally permissible because the plane will be given on the terms that its ownership will transfer to Trumps presidential library before he leaves office. But first, the 13-year-old plane will be given to the U.S. Air Force, which will cover the costs of updating the plane to meet U.S. military specifications necessary to transport the president, ABC News sources familiar with the anticipated arrangement.

Government lawyers in the White House and Department of Justice decided that the present does not amount to bribery because it is not being gifted on the condition of an official act. Bondi additionally decided that the gift is not bribery because the plane is being given to the Air Force and then to Trumps presidential library rather than to Trump himself.

One reason Trump would want a new aircraft from Qatar is that plans to build a new fleet of Air Force One planes have been delayed and over budget on a $3.9 billion contract. Although a contract was signed with Boeing in 2018 during Trumps first administration to build the new fleet, the planes were not expected to be ready to use until 2029, after Trumps second term expires. Trump has asked Elon Musk to help expedite the process.

While Musks efforts have moved the delivery date up by two years, Trump is antsy to enjoy a luxurious new Air Force One sometime this year. Enter the Qatari royal family and their palace in the sky.

Concerns about accepting the plane from Qatar include the security ramifications of accepting such a present one that will not only transport the president but also host sensitive and classified conversations from a foreign government. The gifted plane also may not be able to perform at the same level as the current Air Force One jets, and the short timeline wont allow for performance modifications.

You could do some paint, you could do some communications upgrades, and I suspect it would be hard to do too much beyond that on that timeline, Andrew Hunter, the Air Forces acquisition under Biden, told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

The Trumps seem to be fostering a close relationship with the Qatari government and royal family. Late last month, the Trump Organization announced it has agreed to build a new Middle East golf course in Qatar in partnership with Qatari Diar, a real estate company created by the nations sovereign wealth fund. The chair of Qatari Diar is a minister in the government of Qatar.

I wonder what changed his mind in recent politics

Schumer's probably too busy to pen a second sternly worded letter.

Guys, it's fine - his lawyer said it's legal.

that seems dumb, even for them not in the grift sense, but in the security (and self preservation) sense

This thing gonna have more bugs than a house down south with windows open.

Yet another openly corrupt act that the Republican controlled Congress will do jack shit about (and the public will once again blame Democrats for not stopping despite lacking any power to do so).

Qatar playing 3D chess by giving him a Boeing. This might be a good thing.

Boeing huh

Sounds like fate

PeteyParker posted...

Yet another openly corrupt act that the Republican controlled Congress will do jack shit about (and the public will once again blame Democrats for not stopping despite lacking any power to do so).

Democrats sat on their hands for two fucking years before deciding to do something about all the corruption from Trump's first four years in office. They absolutely deserve some of the blame for the dumpster fire we currently find ourselves in.

I would simply be happy to be sent a luxury condo to take girls back to

Gift? The word you were looking for is Bribe.

Accolon posted...

Gift? The word you were looking for is Bribe.

The Supreme Court says they're gratuities, not bribes.

And Trump will also take it with him after his presidency. Never mind the taxpayers will be footing the bill for the conversion and operation of this aircraft.

He's just going to let the actual Air Force One replacement project rot and die. And it certainly deserves to, but that's beyond the point.

We have no good options unless we go with a much smaller Boeing competitor in the US.

darkace77450 posted...

The Supreme Court says they're gratuities, not bribes.

I assume someone is giving them "gratuities" as well

It's okay though because Trump turned down the $200,000 salary he receives as president

If we wanted a palace in the sky, an A380 or C-5 Galaxy would be better, if not far more impractical. Whether we really need a 4-engine requirement for a president will become an issue for whatever replaces the VC-25B by the 2050s.

We're here because Boeing refuses to compete and simps believe Trump is due every gift in the world.

717: Does not match A220 at all.
737: Functionally unchanged since 90s but really not since 60s. Safety issues for MAX series. Cannot compete with A321XLR at all for narrowbody transatlantic flights. No replacement planned.
747: No longer built. No replacement.
757: No longer built. Replacement canceled.
767: Replaced by 787 but nobody wants to use it that way.
787: Safety concerns but the only bright spot in the entire lineup.
777: Aging fleet. 777X is still not ready and relies on the wingtip mechanism to never ever fail.

Even where Boeing, their vendors, and furnishers are doing well, there's a distinct lack of polish compared to Airbus in every area. From ensuring no foreign debris in fuselage panels to even little things like privacy doors in business class.

PeteyParker posted...

Yet another openly corrupt act that the Republican controlled Congress will do jack shit about (and the public will once again blame Democrats for not stopping despite lacking any power to do so).

Democrats incompetence and complacency has paved the way for the regressive regime we see today. They kept compromising and trying to see the light within their colleagues, when they absolutely shouldn't have or didn't need to, and refused to "go low" when the opposition have no problems aiming below the belt. They moan about how they don't have a supermajority to do what they want which curiously seems to be less of a problem for Republicans to get everything they ask for. They keep losing elections despite being clearly better choices because they haven't figured out over the course of several decades how to combat Fox News. They intentionally delayed charging Trump with anything because they wanted to use it as a campaign promise and are capitalist bootlicking cowards who would rather "heal and move on" besides. Their last line of defense were the power of Congress and the courts and they somehow never anticipated the scenario where Trump and Republicans disregard Congress and ignore judge rulings.

Now Democrats are pivoting hard to do something they've wanted to do for years, move further to the right on all issues. Our best hope is that people get fed up with higher prices enough to swing back to Democrats.

This is going to be less secure than the time Trump left his unencrypted phone on the golf course and the Chinese regularly were listening in on (as well as other foreign governments).

Is there a day this guy doesn't wake up and commit a high crime or misdemeanor?

Accolon posted...

I assume someone is giving them "gratuities" as well

Yep. Nazi bedsheet collectors.

Jimmy Carter had to give up his peanut farm due to the mere possibility of corruption.

Thats the kind of MAGA I want. Make bribes taboo again

Wait but I thought Trump was going to ignore the Constitution to run for another term...

"He can't be bribed, he has too much money!" - Idiots from 2016

DeepFriedSquid posted...

It's okay though because Trump turned down the $200,000 salary he receives as president

There's never been any factual proof of that, as greedy as Trump is he absolutely would take that money anyway

darkace77450 posted...

Democrats sat on their hands for two fucking years before deciding to do something about all the corruption from Trump's first four years in office. They absolutely deserve some of the blame for the dumpster fire we currently find ourselves in.

That may be but the voters of this country deserve way more blame.

Its fucking embarassing.

archizzy posted...

Qatar playing 3D chess by giving him a Boeing. This might be a good thing.

Didn't one of the Bond villains die by getting sucked out of an airplane

HylianFox posted...

Didn't one of the Bond villains die by getting sucked out of an airplane

Goldfinger

Reminder that Qatar acts as the Taliban's middleman to the world. The media will ignore this.

Guys guys guys, calm down. It's ok.

They aren't hiding anything. They are accepting these gifts in secret. Therefore, it's totally fine.

What if it's sabotaged and set to blow up in the sky?

Zikten posted...

What if it's sabotaged and set to blow up in the sky?

ehhh

divot1338 posted...

That may be but the voters of this country deserve way more blame.

Its fucking embarassing.

Here's how I think the order of blame goes.

-Republicans
-Republican voters
-non voters/3rd party voters
-Democrats
-fickle Democrat voters

nocturnal_traveler posted...

Here's how I think the order of blame goes.

-Republicans
-Republican voters
-non voters/3rd party voters
-Democrats
-fickle Democrat voters

Maybe if we were talking about a one off issue.

But after over thirty years of this shit, at some point the problem is us. Not the criminals we keep electing.

At least the corruption isn't hidden anymore. Now it's out in the open.

Zikten posted...

What if it's sabotaged and set to blow up in the sky?

Given Boeing's reputation these days, that's mostly unnecessary.

creativerealms posted...

At least the corruption isn't hidden anymore. Now it's out in the open.

You mean Qatar's corruption, right?

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

You mean Qatar's corruption, right?

Qatars corruption was never unexposed.

divot1338 posted...

Maybe if we were talking about a one off issue.

But after over thirty years of this shit, at some point the problem is us. Not the criminals we keep electing.

Yeah. The problem definitely is us. Not Us us, but the collective stupidity of America.

Zikten posted...

What if it's sabotaged and set to blow up in the sky?

Pretty sure the military will comb it and install anti-attack measurements before it is being used as Air Force One.

divot1338 posted...

Qatars corruption was never unexposed.

I'm wondering when Donnie's was, is the thing.

Foppe posted...

Pretty sure the military will comb it and install anti-attack measurements before it is being used as Air Force One.

Unless they wanted to get rid of Trump.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

I'm wondering when Donnie's was, is the thing.

He be never hid his corruption, his supporters just call it "being a good businessman"

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

I'm wondering when Donnie's was, is the thing.

June 13, 1946

divot1338 posted...

June 13, 1946

Fair, lol.

divot1338 posted...

But after over thirty years of this s***, at some point the problem is us. Not the criminals we keep electing.

That entirely ignores how the criminals have set up and manipulated the system to remain in power after we made the mistakes we did thirty years ago.

Surely this will lower the price of eggs.

DnDer posted...

That entirely ignores how the criminals have set up and manipulated the system to remain in power after we made the mistakes we did thirty years ago.

No.

Those people will always be at fault.

And for the last thirty years I was willing to lay all the blame on them too. But when its so bad that almost half the country is supporting what equates to ending the United States, ultimately this on us.

And I dont mean Trump voters. I mean everyone.

Cool, if Trump decides he wants to keep it, he still pays $400 million

divot1338 posted...

No.

Those people will always be at fault.

And for the last thirty years I was willing to lay all the blame on them too. But when its so bad that almost half the country is supporting what equates to ending the United States, ultimately this on us.

And I dont mean Trump voters. I mean everyone.

Tbf, those criminals are the ones responsible for the mental deterioration of the American people, what with taking steps to make sure each generation was dumber than the last. It's why I blame the Democrats more than the people. They had the means and the power to stop the Republicans, or at least create their own counter structures, instead of just letting the Republicans do what they did.