Trump set to accept luxury 747 from Qatar

12/5/2025 6:14

The Trump administration intends to

accept a Boeing 747-8 plane as a gift from the Qatari

royal family that would then be outfitted to serve as Air Force

One, ABC News reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources

familiar with the matter.



The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable

gifts ever received by the U.S. government, would eventually be

donated to Donald Trump's presidential library after he leaves

office, ABC said. A new commercial 747-8 costs approximately

$400 million.



Democrats and good government advocates condemned the

reported plan, saying it raised massive ethical and legal

concerns.



"Nothing says 'America First' like Air Force One, brought to

you by Qatar," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on

X. "It's not just bribery, it's premium foreign influence with

extra legroom."



The White House did not immediately respond to a request for

comment on the report.



A Qatari spokesperson, Ali Al-Ansari, told the New York

Times that news reports about the gift were "inaccurate" because

the possible transfer of the aircraft was still under

consideration and "no decision has been made," the newspaper

reported.



Trump has expressed frustration at the delays in delivering

two new 747-8 aircraft to serve as an updated Air Force One.

During his first term, Trump had reached a deal with Boeing to

deliver the jets in 2024. A U.S. Air Force official told

Congress last week that Boeing had proposed finishing the planes

by 2027.



Trump toured the Qatari-owned 747-8 in February when it was

parked at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, near

Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. At the time, the White House said the

president did so to get a better understanding of how the

updated Air Force One planes would be configured.



In a statement, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility

and Ethics, a good government organization based in Washington,

questioned whether the transfer might violate the Constitution's

ban on U.S. officials accepting gifts from foreign governments

absent congressional approval.



"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,"

the spokesman, Jordan Libowitz, said.



Trump is set to visit Qatar during a trip to the Middle East

this week.



ABC reported, citing sources, that lawyers for the White

House counsel's office and the Department of Justice had

prepared an analysis concluding that it would be legal and

constitutional for the Defense Department to accept the plane as

a gift and later transfer it to Trump's presidential library.