Trump would sell you out for a Big Mac, so imagine what he'd do for a big plane
A new Air Force One from Hamas' sugar daddy? What could go wrong?
Just another normal news cycle in Trump’s America:
In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar -- a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News.
The gift had been expected to be announced next week, when Trump visits Qatar on the first foreign trip of his second term, according to sources familiar with the plans. But a senior White House official said the gift will not be presented or gifted while the president is in Qatar this week.
In a social media post Sunday night, Trump confirmed his administration was preparing to accept the aircraft, calling it a "very public and transparent transaction" with the Defense Department.
Trump had previously toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as "a flying palace," while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
The highly unusual -- unprecedented -- arrangement is sure to raise questions about whether it is legal for the Trump administration, and ultimately, the Trump presidential library foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power.
President Trump accepting a plane from Canada (a Twin Otter, maybe?) would be ethically questionable, especially in light of some influential Canadian commentators suggesting a strategy of bribing Trump to make him do what we want him to do.
Trump accepting a plane from freaking Qatar raises ethical concerns I didn’t even think about until the story broke, because it was so far out of the realm of probability until January 20, 2025.
And it might already be having an impact, if this column in The Forward by Dan Perry is any indication:
For many on the Israeli right, Trump seemed like a dream president: uninterested in Palestinian statehood, unbothered by human rights critiques, uncritical of West Bank settlements, and largely aligned with their “might makes right” worldview. But those days may be gone.
How quickly things appear to change. Just a few weeks ago, Trump was proclaiming that he and Netanyahu were “on the same side of every issue.” Now, he’s skipping Israel on the first Middle Eastern visit of his new presidency, and has reportedly stepped back from his once-close relationship with his Israeli counterpart.
But, looked at closely, the cracks in that relationship aren’t quite as new as they seem. When Netanyahu made a last-minute April visit to the White House, largely in an attempt to try to talk Trump down from imposing a major new tariff on Israel, Trump appeared to ambush him with the announcement that the United States was resuming nuclear talks with Iran.
Netanyahu sat beside him, visibly stunned. The three rounds of talks that have since been held appear to be leading to an arrangement that sounds a lot like a return to the Iran deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama: Iran would relinquish highly enriched material, continue lower-level enrichment under verification, and receive sanctions relief.
The shocks kept coming. Earlier this week, shortly after a Houthi missile struck the grounds of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport — causing most airlines to cease flying to Israel — Trump revealed a deal with the Houthis to end U.S.-led strikes targeting the group in Yemen. In exchange, the Houthis would stop attacking ships heading through the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal.
Left out of the deal? Any promise from the Houthis to stop firing at Israel. The timing, two days after the airport incident, left Israelis once again feeling that Trump had thrown them under the bus.
I’m not saying the two are definitely corrected - maybe Trump got mad because Netanyahu didn’t bow low enough when they met, or something - but it’s a heck of a coincidence that Trump’s apparent turn against Israel is happening around the same time an oil-rich sheikhdom engaged in a multi-billion-dollar payoff campaign to launder its own reputation - and that of Hamas - gifted him a freaking Boeing 747.
Many commentators who reluctantly (or “reluctantly”) backed Trump because of his alleged support for Israel are crying foul, to which I can only respond, WHAT THE %&*%@$ DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?
Seriously, was there anything in Trump’s bio which led you to believe he wouldn’t sell you out if the price was right? I mean, it’s not like he goes out of his way to hide it:
GD Culture Group, a small technology company with ties to China, announced its plans to buy as much as $300 million of $TRUMP — President Donald Trump’s memecoin.
The firm, which employs eight people, produces short videos for the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok. While the company recorded no revenue last year, it announced this week that a mysterious stock sale would allow it to invest in Trump’s memecoin, The New York Times reported.
Trump, who has recently planned two lavish cryptocurrency-focused dinners — one of which cost a whopping $1.5 million to attend— has raised the alarm of ethicists who caution that his endeavors with his memecoin and crypto company, World Liberty Financial, could pose a conflict of interest.
[…]
The morally questionable purchase also comes at a time when Trump is trying to reach a deal that would allow TikTok to continue operating in the country.
I’ll give Trump this much: when he’s bought, he stays bought. Until a higher bid comes in, at least.
There’s an overlooked part of this story, by the way: part of the reason Qatar saw an opportunity to swoop in and gift Trump a decked-out 747 is because Boeing, a company going from triumph these days, has been at it for almost a decade and still isn’t anywhere near delivering a new one:
Why does the president need a new plane? And if he does, why can’t Boeing just build one?
Boeing is trying, but has had its share of trouble delivering new Air Force One jets.
The two Air Force One 747s, dubbed VC-25A in contracting terms, entered service in the early 1990s—more than 30 years ago.
The government has planned to replace the aircraft for years—the talk started around 2010—because they are outdated and cost much more to maintain. About a decade ago, Boeing won the contract for two VC-25B jets nearly a decade ago, around 2016.
Boeing started talking about the program on earnings conference calls in spring 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. But things moved slowly.
The airplane maker and its suppliers lost skilled employees, and employee clearances became a problem in all the pandemic chaos.
Boeing did begin modifying 747s later in 2020, on schedule, but flight testing was delayed—for years.
The government contract was for more than $2 billion a plane. Costs, however, built up. In 2022, Boeing recognized a $660 million loss to account for higher costs tied to suppliers, technical requirements, and delays.
Boeing now says it will be ready for 2027, five years later than originally planned. We’ll see if the new plane is ready before California High-Speed Rail is up and running or before GTA6 comes out.
Come to think of it, I’m surprised Qatar didn’t try to embarrass America further by offering Trump a surplus Airbus A380 instead. You know he would have accepted it. Unless his other pals offered up a premium Il-96 instead.
