WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump is poised to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the Qatari royal family that will be converted as the new Air Force One, according to multiple news reports.
The New York Times and ABC News reported that the plane will later be donated to Trump’s presidential library. The gift will be announced when Trump makes his first major foreign trip to the Middle East this week, where he will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Associated Press and the Times.
Trump appeared to confirm plans to accept the plane as a gift as he lashed out at Democratic critics of the exchange in an evening post on Truth Social on May 11.
“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. Anybody can do that!” Trump said. “The Dems are World Class Losers!!!”
The Constitution’s Emoluments Clause prohibits any person holding office from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent.
ABC News reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s top White House lawyer, David Warrington, concluded it would be “legally permissible” for the jet to be donated as long as it is transferred to Trump’s presidential library before his term ends.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump to accept luxury jet from Qatari royal family: Reports
