The Qatari royal household has proposed gifting President Donald Trump a luxurious Boeing 747-8 airplane to make use of as a short lived Air Drive One throughout his remaining time within the White Home. The plane would then be donated to his presidential basis after he leaves workplace, opening up the opportunity of Trump utilizing it for private journey. (Whereas the New York Occasions reported {that a} Qatari official stated the proposal continues to be being mentioned, Trump plans to simply accept the reward — although he instructed reporters on Monday that he wouldn’t use the airplane as soon as his presidency ends.)
The airplane is estimated to price round $400 million, and Democrats have criticized the concept of the president receiving such an costly reward. “This isn’t regular. That is blatant corruption,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote on X. “Trump First, America Final.”
Trump defended the plan, saying he can be a “silly particular person” if he declined the gesture. “So the truth that the Protection Division is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 plane to interchange the 40 12 months previous Air Drive One, quickly, in a really public and clear transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the airplane,” Trump wrote in a social media publish. “Anyone can try this! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!”
But it surely’s not simply Democrats who’re nervous in regards to the transaction. Some Republican senators have additionally raised safety and authorized issues, with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia saying that the White Home would “want to take a look at the constitutionality” of the reward.
It’s true that a part of the job of being president of the USA is to have interaction in diplomacy, and that fairly often contains exchanging items with overseas dignitaries and governments. Many of those items are symbolic gestures, just like the pair of pandas China introduced to President Richard Nixon in 1972. Different items are luxurious and supposed to impress, just like the $20,000, 7.5-carat diamond India introduced to former first woman Jill Biden in 2023. Presidents have additionally obtained items within the type of 300 kilos of uncooked lamb, a pet, oriental rugs, a gold mechanical chicken, swords, and a Burberry coat.
So what’s totally different this time? And why ought to we care about what different nations give to the president?
How presidents are supposed to simply accept items
As previous administrations have proven, it’s typical for presidents to simply accept items. However there are nonetheless legal guidelines in place to make sure that governments, be they overseas or home, can’t curry favor with presidents this manner. In 1966, Congress handed a legislation — the International Presents and Decorations Act — to cap the financial worth of a present the president is allowed to personally settle for. As of 2023, that quantity is $480.
Which means the president can settle for items of any quantity on behalf of the nation however, after leaving workplace, they’ll solely hold the items which are price lower than $480. In the event that they need to maintain on to a costlier reward, they’ve to purchase it themselves from the federal government on the estimated market price. In any other case, these items are sometimes despatched to the Nationwide Archives, in the end transferring possession to the American folks, not any particular particular person.
That’s why the Bidens didn’t take house the diamond from India and as a substitute left it behind within the East Wing for official use. And the pet was given to a household in Maryland as a result of, per Axios, it “couldn’t be archived.” And it’s in all probability protected to say that no president has ever accepted a present price $400 million.
Along with the International Presents and Declarations Act, the US Structure additionally has two emoluments clauses. These bar presidents from receiving cash or items from overseas governments, in addition to different branches of the US authorities, to forestall particular pursuits from having undue affect over the president’s decision-making. So earlier than the 1966 reforms, per the Structure, Congress needed to approve each reward {that a} president obtained in the event that they had been to maintain it personally — one thing that turned more durable and more durable to do as the USA’ affect grew and items turned extra commonplace. Trump was sued for violating the emoluments throughout his first time period, although the Supreme Courtroom in the end dismissed the circumstances in 2021.
The primary and maybe most necessary query it is best to ask about the entire airplane gifting controversy is that this: Why would a overseas authorities even need to give the president a present price $400 million?
Certain, it could be supposed as gesture, however a gesture that dear virtually actually comes with the expectation that the president will give Qatar one thing in return. There doesn’t must be an specific quid professional quo to imagine that the reward could be extra of an funding — similar to these seeking to purchase affect within the Trump White Home would possibly flock to purchase inventory in his media firm or a few of his meme cash. The truth that this proposed reward comes on the heels of the Trump Group putting a deal to construct a luxurious golf resort in Qatar also needs to elevate eyebrows.
However whereas the plan to reward Trump the airplane isn’t finalized and may not occur, the truth that Trump thought of and defended the concept continues to be regarding, even when his previous historical past exhibits that it’s fully unsurprising. In any case, in his first time period, overseas governments spent hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on his personal companies. Final 12 months, his media firm went public, making his conflicts of curiosity even worse by permitting anybody to purchase shares in his enterprise. And simply final month, he supplied to host a dinner for the highest traders in his crypto meme coin — which he launched days earlier than the beginning of his second time period — calling it “probably the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION within the World.”
That Trump isn’t solely open to receiving a $400 million airplane but in addition argues that it’s a prudent transfer clearly exhibits that the US president is greater than keen to simply accept extravagant items. That’s an issue in and of itself as a result of it encourages different overseas governments to supply related items within the hopes of currying favor with Trump or producing goodwill. It will solely add to the numerous conflicts of curiosity Trump already has, making it even more durable to know the place his loyalties stand and whom he could be beholden to.
It’s possible that Trump will run right into a authorized headache attempting to simply accept this specific reward, particularly due to his need to switch it over to his presidential library. Home Democrats are already searching for a probe into the potential jet, and a few have argued that it’s outright unconstitutional. “A present you utilize for 4 years after which deposit in your library continues to be a present (and a grift),” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote on X.
In principle, if the president accepts the airplane and the federal government maintains possession of it — be it by means of the Nationwide Archives or preserving it operational for future presidents or another official use — then it wouldn’t essentially violate any ethics legal guidelines.
However even when Trump can discover a technical authorized argument for why he can settle for the reward, the query is whether or not he ought to given the conflicts of curiosity it raises. And it will be arduous to search out an ethics professional who wouldn’t elevate issues.
