‘That's not America first': MAGA turns on Trump over gift $400m jet from Qatar

Yahoo

14-05-2025

Donald Trump is coming under fire from some of his most prominent MAGA supporters for his decision to accept a luxury Boeing 747 as a gift from Qatar to replace Air Force One.
'I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits,' said Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has wielded enormous influence over the president in Trump's second term.
Loomer accused the Qatari government, which has acted as an intermediary for negotiations between Hamas and international powers, of funding 'Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah who have murdered U.S. Service Members.'
The plane has been described as a "palace in the sky," and it would likely not be made available to Trump to use as the new Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office, at which point he said it would be transferred to the foundation responsible for the Trump presidential library.
The president has repeatedly complained about delays in the production by Boeing of a new Air Force One to replace the current planes, two modified 747-200 jumbo jets known by the model number VC-25A, which date from 1990.
'This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true,' Loomer, a regular visitor to the White House, wrote on X.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro called the decision 'skeezy.'
'Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jazeera, all the rest, that's not America first,' he said on 'The Ben Shapiro Show.'
'I think if we switch the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we'd all be freaking out on the right,' he added.
Mark Levin, a conservative radio host and MAGA influencer, accused Qatar of spreading "anti-American" propaganda.
"Their jet and all the other things they are buying in our country does not provide them with the cover they seek," he wrote X.
He later wrote "Ditto" in response to Loomer's post.
Trump even received criticism from one of his most fervent Republican supporters in the Senate.
"My view is that it would be better if Air Force One were a big, beautiful jet made in the United States of America. That would be ideal," Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said.
Trump said this week that he planned to accept what is likely the most valuable gift ever given to the U.S. by a foreign government — a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet owned by Qatar's royal family, with an estimated value of $400 million.
Trump bristled at the suggestion that the gift would classify as corruption, as both his opponent and supporters have implied.
"I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer," he told reporters on Monday. "I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane."
The president will likely face further questions about the lavish gift over the coming days as he tours the Middle East this week.