Trump Plans to Ditch the American-Made Air Force One and Accept a $400 Million Flying Palace from the Emir of Qatar as a Bribe

May 12, 2025

Donald Trump has been flagrantly selling his presidency, and the royal family of Qatar is outbidding everyone, offering him the open bribe of a $400 million “flying palace.” The clue it’s a bribe is that the plane will follow Trump and be used to fly him around after he leaves office.

ABC News reports:

In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar—a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Trump presidential library foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement told ABC News. …
Trump had previously toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as “a flying palace,” while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February. …
[S]ources told ABC News that lawyers for the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding that it is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and that it does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution's prohibition (the emoluments clause) of any U.S. government official accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State.” …
According to aviation industry experts, the estimated value of the aircraft Trump will inherit is about $400 million.

The Founders knew what corruption looked like; they saw it in the colonial governors. So they didn’t say no president can accept gifts if there’s a specific quid pro quo. They said he couldn’t accept gifts. That anyone is even arguing whether this is a bribe is frankly embarrassing.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X.