The US Air Force has accepted a Boeing 747-8 that the Qatari government has gifted to President Donald Trump in a deal shrouded in questions over ethics, logistics, and presidential propriety.

Official: US Air Force Accepts Qatari 747-8, Plans To Retrofit To Create Air Force One For Trump

The Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accepted the jet from the Qatari government. Once retrofitted, it will be used as Trump’s official plane, then transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation when Trump leaves office. This is the same plane that Trump personally inspected in Florida earlier this year.

> Read More: “I’m Not Happy With Boeing!” Trump Goes Plane Shopping Due To Air Force One Delays

I think every reasonable person would be applauding President Trump had he simply secured the jet at no cost to US taxpayers from Qatar so that he and future US presidents could use it. But that’s not how this deal appears to be going down…at least according to some administration officials.

Instead, the US taxpayers will spend more than $800 million (twice the list value and perhaps 10x the real value of the jet) to retrofit it with security and technological upgrades, making it safe for presidential transport. But then, despite that massive investment and even though the replacement aircraft from Boeing may not arrive until the mid-2030s, the aircraft will leave office with Trump.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has concluded it is “legally permissible” for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring the jet to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation on January 1, 2029 (three weeks before Trump will leave office). Hegseth has also said his department found no legal or ethical concerns over the deal.

But the Trump Library will not be completed by 2029 and this is a different situation than a US President donating a decommissioned jet to a presidential library, as President George Bush did for the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA.

The problem is not that it is going to the Trump Library: the problem is timing. Why would it not be used for presidential transport and then be transferred to Trump’s Library upon retirement? Why are taxpayers spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a jet that will only be in service for 2-3 years? Will President Trump use the jet for “library” business after he leaves office? What would that entail, especially because his personal 757-200 jet is reportedly in poor condition?

President Trump has insisted that he will not fly in the plane after he leaves office and dismissed all criticism:

Specifically, he told Brett Baier of Fox News that future US presidents would continue to use the jet:

But asked about this, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The legal details are still being worked out” and declined to say what would happen to the jet after Trump left office.

And Trump also said during a May 12th press conference, “It would go directly to the library after I leave office. I wouldn’t be using it.”

So which one is it?

And if the new Air Force One jets can be delivered by 2027 by omitting certain security features (something Boeing has suddenly promised), then why not just use the existing jets for two years and save the $800 million retrofit? After all, in the same interview above, Trump said the current planes were still reliable…just old. Furthermore, if the Qatari plane is to be secure, won’t security updates take years anyway?

A Sign Of American Decline?

A warning. If you are triggered by political commentary, do not read further. While I’m making a reasonable effort to avoid divisive political matters, this is an issue in which aviation and politics are intertwined.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said:

“Today marks a dark day in history: the president of the United States of America officially accepted the largest bribe from a foreign government in American history.”

I don’t see how this is a bribe (though I understand the gift comes on the heels of the Trump Organization announcing a new deal to build a golf course and villas in Qatar)…but I do think this triggers the prohibition against foreign emoluments (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) even if the gift is ostensibly directed toward the non-profit foundation that will build and manage the future Trump presidential library.

We don’t need to spend $800 million redoing a jet when the two we have now are just fine and two more are coming in the years ahead!

But maybe all of this is just a distraction?

As global confidence in the US declines, the yield on the Treasury Department’s 30-year note continues to rise, and the value of the USD erodes, the House just passed a reckless spending bill that will inflame the federal budget deficit and national debt by extending tax cuts that the country cannot afford. The “big beautiful bill” is anything but…it’s a boondoggle to special interests (i.e., the swamp) and is the exact opposite of what fiscal responsibility should look like.

Put aside that the current pair of modified 747-200 aircraft serving as Air Force One are built and maintained to last another generation, where are the Republican deficit hawks now?

And I suspect had this gift been offered to Obama or Biden, Trump would doubtless be assailing it, like this:

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But we live in a different era now, were the POTUS imagines himself king, pope, and slayer of Bruce Springsteen. It’s amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the world is the victim. Peace in Gaza? Nope. Peace in Ukraine? Nope. Massive budget deficits? Check. Threats against political rivals? Check.

I still pray for the President and hope to be proven wrong…but I’m not liking what I am seeing and any way you slice, there are more questions than answers concerning this new Air Force One deal.

CONCLUSION

I’ve largely shut off the news over the last week because I find it all so depressing and am thankful to put my hope in a kingdom not of this world. But for all who gloat over this deal because it is “triggering leftists,” I’d invite you to ask yourself this question: do you like your tax dollars being wasted? Is there really a business case for this jet when two more are on their way? And far more importantly than the jet, do you think it is sound policy to spend more money than we have every single year, even as the cost of debt servicing continues to rise?

image: White House