President Trump on Monday called it “stupid” for him to turn down the gift of a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar, praising the offer from the Arab nation as a “great gesture.”
Boeing has had a contract with the U.S. government to deliver a new Air Force One jet, but it’s been faced with a host of delays.
The president told reporters at the White House that the Qataris knew the delivery date of a new Air Force One jet was delayed and that they wanted to help out because “we’ve helped them a lot over the years in terms of security and safety.”
“They said, ‘We would like to do something,’ and if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” Trump said.
He added, “Now, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want a free plane.’ We give free things out, we’ll take one too. And, it helps us out because … we have 40-year-old aircraft. The money we spend, the maintenance we spend on those planes to keep them tippy top is astronomical. You wouldn’t even believe it. So, I think it’s a great gesture from Qatar; I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane,’ but I thought it was a great gesture.”
The Boeing 747-8 airplane from the government of Qatar would replace Air Force One and would be kept by Trump’s eventual presidential library after the end of his term. Qatari officials told The Hill the plane would not be given to Trump during his trip to the country this week.
Trump said he thinks Qatar made the gesture because he has “kept them safe,” adding, “If it wasn’t for us, they probably wouldn’t exist right now.”
He also lashed out at an ABC reporter who asked for his response to critics who say the luxury jet is a personal gift.
“You should be embarrassed asking that question. They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, ‘No, no, no, don’t give us. I want to pay you a billion or $400 million or whatever it is.’ Or I could say, ‘Thank you very much.’”
He cited a “motto” from former professional golfer Sam Snead, who said to take a putt when you’re given one.
“A lot of people are stupid, they say, ‘No no, I insist on putting it,’ and then they putt it, they miss it and their partner gets angry at them. … Remember that. Sam Snead when they give you a putt, you pick it up and you walk to the next hole and you say, ‘Thank you very much.’”
He added that the gift is not to him personally but to the Defense Department.
The president added Monday, just before he left for the Middle East, what led to the Qatari offer. He said he’s “very disappointed” that it’s taken “so long” to build a new Air Force One and that Arab countries have planes that are “from a different planet” than American planes.
When he lost the 2020 election, he said progress on a new plane didn’t work out, so he checked in on the status when he returned to office in January.
The president also confirmed he would not use the plane after he leaves office, telling reporters, “It would go directly to the library after I leave office.”
“I wouldn’t be using it, no,” he said, adding that a decommissioned plane sits in former President Reagan’s library.
The news that Trump would receive a gifted plane from a foreign government sparked criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who called it another example of him using the presidency to enrich himself. Trump blasted the Democratic critics on Truth Social, calling them “world class losers.”
