President Donald Trump confirmed that Qatar is giving the United States a luxury Boeing 747 jet “free of charge,” which will temporarily replace Air Force One.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!! MAGA.”
While reports have surfaced regarding the Trump administration reportedly preparing to accept the luxury Boeing 747 plane from Qatar, Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the U.S. issued a statement describing the reports as “inaccurate” and said the “possible transfer of an aircraft” to temporarily serve as Air Force One was “under consideration.”
“Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate,” Al-Ansari said. “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.”
Trump’s post comes as “sources familiar with the proposed arrangement” told ABC News that the Trump administration is reportedly “preparing to accept” the luxury Boeing 747 plane, which is described as being “a flying palace.”
The plane, which Trump toured in February, will be “available” for Trump to use as “the new Air Force One” during his time in office, and after Trump leaves office, the plane’s ownership “will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation”:
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.
Lawyers from the White House counsel’s office and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have reportedly “drafted an analysis” for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, finding that it is “legal for the Department of Defense” to accept the plane from Qatar and then later have ownership turned over to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources told the outlet.
“Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to the outlet. “President Trump’s Administration is committed to full transparency.”
– News’s Nick Gilbertson reported in February that Trump was touring a new Boeing plane to view its hardware and technology. Sources told – News at the time that it would “underscore the company’s failure to produce new Air Force One planes” on time, years after “Trump finalized a contract with the company in 2018:
Trump spoke about his dissatisfaction with Boeing over the failure to produce the two replacement presidential aircraft in the 2018 contract while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
While updated Air Force One planes were originally supposed to be completed by 2024, the time frame was pushed to “2027 for the first plane” and 2028 “for the second,” the Associated Press reported.
