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Offer to gift Trump an aircraft is 'normal thing' between allies, Qatar says
Al Thani dismissed concerns about Qatar trying to buy influence with its key ally, after US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One, the plane that transports the US president.
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Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg sits to the left of US President Donal Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (right) during a business deal signing ceremony at the Royal Palace in Doha, on May 14, 2025. Trump touched down at Hamad International Airport in Doha, with relations between the two governments in the spotlight over Qatar's offer to Trump of a US$400 million luxury aircraft to serve as a new Air Force One and then pass into his personal use.
(AFP/Brendan Smialowski)
Q
atar's offer to gift US President Trump a Boeing 747-8 airplane is a "normal thing that happens between allies", Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Tuesday at an economic forum held in Doha.
Al Thani dismissed concerns about Qatar trying to buy influence with its key ally, after US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill on Monday that would prevent any foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One, the plane that transports the US president.
"I hope that the United States looks to Qatar as a reliable partner in diplomacy that is not trying to buy influence," Al Thani said.
Trump shrugged off ethical concerns, saying it would be "stupid" to turn down the generous offer.
He said the Boeing 747-8 would eventually be donated to his presidential library - a repository housing research materials from his administration, and that he had no plans to use it for personal reasons after leaving office.
The leader of the Democratic minority in the US Senate introduced legislation Monday that would block President Trump from using the luxury plane.
Chuck Schumer's Presidential Airlift Security Act would prohibit the Pentagon from using taxpayer funds to retrofit any plane previously owned by a foreign government for use as the presidential plane.
The bill marked the latest in a series of protests by Democrats over Trump's acceptance of the $400 million 747-8 jumbo jet, offered free-of-charge by the Gulf state's royal family.
The proposal has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions -- as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.
Trump has denied there are any ethical issues involved with accepting the plane, saying it would be "stupid" for the US government not to take the aircraft.
"Donald Trump has shown time and again he will sell out the American people and the presidency if it means filling his own pockets," Schumer said in a statement.
"Not only would it take billions of taxpayer dollars to even attempt to retrofit and secure this plane, but there's absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure."
