Trump plans to accept luxury 747 from Qatar to use as Air Force One

US President Donald Trump’s administration intends to accept a Boeing BA.N 747-8 airplane as a gift from the Qatari royal family that would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed today according to Reuters.

The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office, the source said. A new commercial 747-8 costs approximately $400 million.

“The Qatari Government has graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense. The legal details of that are still being worked out,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News.

In a post on his social media site Truth Social late yesterday, Trump confirmed the proposal. “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,” he wrote.

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Democrats and good government advocates said it was unethical and likely unconstitutional for Qatar to make such a gift.

“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.”

A Qatari spokesperson, Ali Al-Ansari, said in a statement that the possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One was still under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defence and “no decision has been made”.

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 US 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 his 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.

Trump is set to visit Qatar during a trip to the Middle East this week. The airplane will not be presented or accepted while Trump is in Qatar.

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