
White House insists Trump has nothing to do with $400m Qatar plane deal — despite it going to his library
The White House is continuing to deny that the proposed gift of a $400 million bespoke jumbo jet for President Donald Trump 's use as a luxury transport while construction proceeds on two long-delayed aircraft to be used as Air Force One has anything to do with the man who would benefit most from the transaction.
During a morning press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned on whether the tricked-out aircraft currently owned by a member of Qatar 's ruling al-Thani family could be checked for listening devices or other security concerns and retrofitted to presidential standards.
Leavitt quickly repeated a previously used statement about the plane being accepted 'according to all legal and ethical obligations' and said it would be 'retrofitted to the highest of standards' by the Pentagon and the Air Force. But she then pivoted to a complaint about what she described as 'misinformation' about the proposed donation, which according to Trump would see the plane delivered to the Department of Defense for use during his term and then transferred to his presidential library's foundation around the time he leaves office in early 2029.
She claimed that the aircraft was 'not a personal donation or gift' to Trump and said any journalist who suggested otherwise should correct their reporting.
'This is a donation to our country and to the United States Air Force,' she said, adding later that she'd refer further questions on retrofitting the aircraft to the Air Force because Trump 'has nothing to do with it.'
Leavitt's insistence that the president isn't a party to the proposed transaction tracks with the opinion of Trump's Department of Justice, which had moved swiftly to rule that accepting the gift would break no laws despite the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibiting the president from accepting from accepting 'any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.'
Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House lawyer David Warrington said the donation of the aircraft would be 'legally permissible' given that its ownership would be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation before the end of his term.
Trump has long fixated on the details of what has become a long-delayed, budget-busting project to replace two iconic Boeing 747 aircraft used for presidential transport since the George H.W. Bush administration to the point of picking out a dark blue and red paint scheme for the replacement planes, which are slated to be a pair of 747-8 airliners that were built for but never delivered to a bankrupt Russian airline.
But that project, which began around the time Trump's first term started in 2017, has been dogged by supply chain problems, security delays and the bankruptcy of a key Boeing subcontractor, all on top of the difficulty of stripping a commercial aircraft down to studs and rebuilding it as a hardened VIP transport capable of functioning as a White House in the sky during all manner of crises while protecting itself from many forms of attacks using highly classified defensive capabilities.
The Qatari plane is reportedly so luxurious inside that it has been described as a 'flying palace.' It has two full bathrooms, nine lavatories, a master bedroom and a guest bedroom, multiple lounges, and a private office.
Retrofitting it to be used as Air Force One would likely require years of work to add secure communications, electromagnetic shielding, and possibly in-flight refueling capabilities. making it unlikely that it would be available for use before Trump's term ends.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity aboard Air Force One during his trip to the Middle East last week, Trump appeared not to understand why the gesture had provoked such outrage.
'Why wouldn't I accept a gift?' he asked, pointing out to Hannity how 'much smaller' and 'much less impressive' the present presidential plane is compared to the newer model.
'The plane that you are on right now is almost 40 years old,' he griped.
'When you land and you see Saudi Arabia, and you see [the UAE], and you see Qatar, and you see all these – they have these brand new Boeing 747s mostly.
'And you see ours next to it. This is like a totally different plane. It's much smaller, it's much less impressive... We're the United States of America – I believe we should have the most impressive plane.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
US envoy plans to meet Iran's foreign minister on Sunday, US official says
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran's response to a recent American proposal for a nuclear deal, a U.S. official said late on Wednesday. Iran said on Monday it will soon hand a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a U.S. offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable," while U.S. President Donald Trump said talks would continue. Trump told a podcast on Monday he was less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington. Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal to place limits on Iran's disputed uranium enrichment activities and has threatened the Islamic Republic with bombing if no agreement is reached. Iran has long said it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and is only interested in atomic power generation and other peaceful projects. During his first White House term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment drive in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Uneasy relations between Iran and the U.S. go back decades. Tehran says Washington has interfered in its affairs, citing events ranging from a 1953 coup against a prime minister to the 2020 killing of its military commander in a U.S. drone strike. Washington cites Iran's backing of militant groups in the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to say that Iran poses a threat to U.S. ally Israel and Washington's interests in the region. The militant groups describe themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" to Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East. Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place." The decision by the U.S. to evacuate some personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.


The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
LA protesters charged after fireworks hurled at police, officials say
A handful of Los Angeles protesters accused of hurling fireworks at police during a demonstrations against immigration raids in the city, have been criminally charged, officials announced Wednesday. While most of the protests in LA in recent days have been peaceful, there have been some bad actors accused of vandalizing property and committing violence against law enforcement, officials said. Authorities charged five protesters Wednesday. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at least one officer has been injured by flying fireworks. 'I've watched Molotov cocktails and fireworks, shot mortars being launched out of tubes at our officers,' the chief said, according to NBC Los Angeles. McDonnell continued: 'Let's not forget our officers face uncertain and often dangerous situations every day. And their risk to their lives has been even greater in these last few days.' Juan Rodriguez is accused of throwing commercial-grade fireworks at police during a protest on Sunday. Randy Paul Ruiz and Georgina Ravalero have been accused of driving their motorcycle into a line of officers on Sunday. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that several officers were knocked down and one was injured. Two more people, a man and a woman, were accused of vandalizing a government building. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said of the man who was charged: 'He was literally standing there with a paint roller, a very long stick, and writing graffiti over an area measuring about 18 feet by 12.' Luna said he 'was using beige paint, and the content of the graffiti included profanity directed at a federal agency.' While Hochman said the DA's office will 'fiercely protect' First Amendment rights, 'when that speech crosses over from protected speech into illegal conduct, the people who engage in that illegal conduct will be prosecuted.' The U.S. Attorney's Office has also charged two men, accusing them of throwing Molotov cocktails at police during the LA protests last weekend. McDonnell said on CNN Wednesday evening: 'We work very closely with District Attorney Nathan Hockman. He does give, I think, due consideration to the severity of the crime and wants to hold people accountable. ' He continued: 'It's dicey for our officers out there. But we're gonna stay the course and ensure that Los Angeles is the safe city that the residents deserve it to be.'


The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump both booed and cheered attending Les Misérables at Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump was greeted with boos, as well as cheers, and chants of 'USA!' as he took his seat for the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. It's the first time Trump has attended a show at the venue since he fired the Kennedy Center's leadership, putting MAGA loyalist Richard Grenell in charge of the famed performing arts institution and naming himself chairman of the board. He promised to scrap 'woke' programming that aligned with what he called leftist ideology, which includes drag shows and 'anti-American propaganda,' the president wrote on Truth Social. The move upset some of the center's patrons and performers, and it was reported that several cast members planned to skip the show in protest of his attendance on Wednesday. When one group of ticket holders found out that Trump, Vance and their wives, Melania and Usha, would be in attendance, they donated their tickets to a group of drag performers, according to Qommittee, as reported by Houston Public Media. Videos posted on social media show the drag performers being cheered before Trump arrived. Other videos showed the president taking his seat to a combination of boos and cheers from the audience. When Trump walked the red carpet with first lady Melania Trump ahead of the show, he said he was not bothered by the reported boycott. 'I couldn't care less, honestly, I couldn't,' Trump said. 'All I do is run the country well. The economic numbers you saw them today, they're setting records. We took $88 billion in tariffs in two months, far beyond what anybody expected. There's no inflation. People are happy. People are wealthy. The country is getting back to strength again. That's what I care about.' Trump also spoke about his plans for the Kennedy Center, whose board he replaced with loyalists, some of whom were in attendance Wednesday, including Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. 'We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever,' Trump said from the red carpet. 'As you know it needs a little help from the standpoint of age and fitness, but it's going to be fantastic.' Trump has previously proclaimed his love for Les Misérables, telling Fox News: 'I love the songs; I love the play. I think it's great.' He has played the musical's rebellion anthem, 'Do You Here the People Sing?' at past events and rallies. The story revolves around revolution in France, and has been a massive smash for decades. Trump also suggested that 'we may extend' the show's run. Currently, Les Misérables is slated to run at the Kennedy Center through July 13. The political drama at the center comes just two months after audience members booed the Vances and they took their upper-level seats at the National Symphony Orchestra. Back in 2016, incoming vice president Mike Pence was booed when he attended a production of Hamilton with his family. Pence acknowledged that he heard 'a few boos" and "some cheers" and told his kids at the time, 'that's what freedom sounds like.' The ethnically diverse cast of the popular and sold-out musical, which tells the story of America's Founding Fathers, asked Pence not to leave the venue before he listened to what they wanted to say – which was that people were worried that Trump would 'not protect them.' While Trump demanded an apology from the cast at the time and called the show "overrated", Pence told Fox News at the time that he, his daughter and cousins "really enjoyed the show".