President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a $96 billion deal between Qatar Airways and Boeing, a symbol of the diplomatic maneuvering defining his presidency.
The agreement, signed in Doha during Trump’s Middle East tour, includes the purchase of 210 Boeing jets by the state-owned Qatari carrier.
Speaking in Qatar, Trump said the deal was for 160 airplanes and worth over $200 billion—though the White House later issued a fact sheet stating it was for up to 210 jets and worth $96 billion.
The deal marks a rare bright spot for Boeing, whose orders last year plummeted 60% amid a series of setbacks, including an incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 Max and a strike that halted production for nearly three months. Trump’s trade war threatened to undercut any gains, as tariffs may add millions to the cost of American jets abroad.
For Trump, the Doha signing was not just about promoting U.S. manufacturing. It also underscored his personal fascination with aviation—where his roles as businessman, President, and self-styled dealmaker appear to intersect. The President has long branded his own Boeing 757 as “Trump Force One” and is now contemplating a luxury jet offered by Qatar to serve as a temporary Air Force One.
Read more: Trump Doubles Down on Plan to Receive Qatar’s Plane Gift: ‘Only a Fool Would Not Accept This’
Trump has floated the idea of accepting a Qatari-owned 747-8 jet, lavishly outfitted and previously used by a senior Qatari politician, as an interim replacement for the aging presidential aircraft. The proposal, which Trump enthusiastically defended as a cost-saving measure, has stirred controversy in Washington over ethical, legal, and national security concerns.
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done,” Trump posted on Truth Social. The President characterized the offer as a gesture of goodwill from Qatar, yet critics see it as another example of foreign influence seeping into American governance.
National security experts have cautioned that the Qatari aircraft would require extensive modifications to meet U.S. military standards, including countermeasures against nuclear and missile threats. Retrofitting a foreign-owned jet would involve tearing apart the plane’s interiors to check for espionage devices, and NBC News reported that the process could cost over $1 billion to complete.
Democrats in Congress have also raised concerns that it would violate the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval.
The Qatar-Boeing deal is the latest in a series of high-profile aviation agreements signed during Trump’s four-day Middle East visit. Just a day earlier, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund inked a $4.8 billion agreement with Boeing, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced a $10 billion order from a British airline.
Hours after the announcement, Trump attended a state dinner with Qatari leaders, where he announced that Qatar was helping negotiate a deal with Iran amid talks to limit the nation’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief—a move he described as “the far friendlier course.”
“There’s only two courses,” he said. “Friendly and non-friendly, and non-friendly is a violent course. I don’t want that.” Trump has said he would never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.
