How corrupt is Trump's plan to accept a Qatari plane?

Vox

13-05-2025

is a correspondent at Vox, where he covers the impacts of social and economic policies. He is the author of 'Within Our Means,' a biweekly newsletter on ending poverty in America.
The Qatari royal family has proposed gifting the president a luxury Boeing 747-8 plane to use as a temporary Air Force One during his remaining time in the White House. The aircraft would then be donated to his presidential foundation after he leaves office, opening up the possibility of Trump using it for personal travel. (While the New York Times reported that a Qatari official said the proposal is still being discussed, Trump plans to accept the gift — though he told reporters on Monday that he would not use the plane once his presidency ends.)
The plane is estimated to cost around $400 million, and Democrats have criticized the idea of the president receiving such an expensive gift. 'This is not normal. This is blatant corruption,' Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote on X. 'Trump First, America Last.'
Trump defended the plan, saying he would be a 'stupid person' if he declined the gesture. 'So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,' Trump wrote in a social media post. 'Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!'
Related Trump has set up a perfect avenue for potential corruption
But it's not just Democrats who are worried about the transaction. Some Republican senators have also raised security and legal concerns, with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia saying that the White House would 'need to look at the constitutionality' of the gift.
It's true that part of the job of being president of the United States is to engage in diplomacy, and that very often includes exchanging gifts with foreign dignitaries and governments. Many of these gifts are symbolic gestures, like the pair of pandas China presented to President Richard Nixon in 1972. Other gifts are luxurious and intended to impress, like the $20,000, 7.5-carat diamond India presented to former first lady Jill Biden in 2023. Presidents have also received gifts in the form of 300 pounds of raw lamb, a puppy, oriental rugs, a gold mechanical bird, swords, and a Burberry coat.
So what's different this time? And why should we care about what other countries give to the president?
How presidents are supposed to accept gifts
As past administrations have shown, it's typical for presidents to accept gifts. But there are still laws in place to ensure that governments, be they foreign or domestic, can't curry favor with presidents this way. In 1966, Congress passed a law — the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act — to cap the monetary value of a gift the president is allowed to personally accept. As of 2023, that amount is $480.
This means that the president can accept gifts of any amount on behalf of the country but, after leaving office, they can only keep the gifts that are worth less than $480. If they want to hold on to a more expensive gift, they have to buy it themselves from the government at the estimated market rate. Otherwise, these gifts are typically sent to the National Archives, ultimately transferring ownership to the American people, not any specific individual.
That's why the Bidens didn't take home the diamond from India and instead left it behind in the East Wing for official use. And the puppy was given to a family in Maryland because, per Axios, it 'couldn't be archived.' And it's probably safe to say that no president has ever accepted a gift worth $400 million.
In addition to the Foreign Gifts and Declarations Act, the US Constitution also has two emoluments clauses. These bar presidents from receiving money or gifts from foreign governments, as well as other branches of the US government, to prevent special interests from having undue influence over the president's decision-making. So before the 1966 reforms, per the Constitution, Congress had to approve every gift that a president received if they were to keep it personally — something that became harder and harder to do as the United States' influence grew and gifts became more commonplace. Trump was sued for violating the emoluments during his first term, though the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the cases in 2021.
Why this matters
The first and perhaps most important question you should ask about the whole plane gifting controversy is this: Why would a foreign government even want to give the president a gift worth $400 million?
Sure, it might be intended as a good gesture, but a gesture that pricey almost certainly comes with the expectation that the president will give Qatar something in return. There doesn't need to be an explicit quid pro quo to assume that the gift might be more of an investment — just like those looking to buy influence in the Trump White House might flock to buy stock in his media company or some of his meme coins. The fact that this proposed gift comes at the heels of the Trump Organization striking a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar should also raise eyebrows.
But while the plan to gift Trump the plane is not finalized and might not happen, the fact that Trump considered and defended the idea is still concerning, even if his past history shows that it's entirely unsurprising. After all, in his first term, foreign governments spent millions of dollars on his private businesses. Last year, his media company went public, making his conflicts of interest even worse by allowing anyone to buy shares in his business. And just last month, he offered to host a dinner for the top investors in his crypto meme coin — which he launched days before the start of his second term — calling it 'the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the World.'
That Trump is not only open to receiving a $400 million plane but also argues that it's a prudent move clearly shows that the US president is more than willing to accept extravagant gifts. That's a problem in and of itself because it encourages other foreign governments to offer similar gifts in the hopes of currying favor with Trump or generating goodwill. This will only add to the many conflicts of interest Trump already has, making it even harder to understand where his loyalties stand and whom he might be beholden to.
It's likely that Trump will run into a legal headache trying to accept this particular gift, especially because of his desire to transfer it over to his presidential library. House Democrats are already seeking a probe into the potential jet, and some have argued that it's outright unconstitutional. 'A gift you use for four years and then deposit in your library is still a gift (and a grift),' Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote on X.
In theory, if the president accepts the plane and the government maintains ownership of it — be it through the National Archives or keeping it operational for future presidents or some other official use — then it wouldn't necessarily violate any ethics laws.