US President Donald Trump on Tuesday clarified that Qatar’s luxury Boeing 747-8 gift is “being given” to the American government and not to him. He said that the aircraft will temporarily be used as Air Force One until the arrival of the new Boeing jets.
The US President also defended his decision to accept the gift and said that it would cost hundreds of millions of America’s Dollars.
In a post on his Truth Social network, the US President wrote, “The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years. It will be used by our Government as a temporary Air Force One, until such time as our new Boeings, which are very late on delivery, arrive.”
“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE from a country that wants to reward us for a job well done. This big savings will be spent, instead, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
The Boeing 747-8 costs approximately $400 million, a Reuters report said.
Earlier White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had also said that any gift given by a foreign government to President Trump is always accepted “in full compliance with all applicable laws”, adding that the Trump administration is committed to full transparency.
A Qatari official, as cited by CNN, said the plane is technically being gifted by the Qatari ministry of defense to the Pentagon, terming it as more of a government-to-government transaction.
The report cited a person familiar with the matter and said that the plan is to eventually donate the aircraft to the presidential library after Trump leaves office, ensuring that he can continue using it.
Trump’s Boeing frustration
Donald Trump has long been vexed over the delays in the delivery of two new Boeing 747-8 to serve as an updated version of Air Force One.
The planes, which were reportedly scheduled to be delivered by 2022, are now not expected until at least 2027, with Boeing’s proposal to finish the aircraft by that year.
In February this year, Trump had toured that Qatar-owned 747-8 when it was parked at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort. The White House, at the time, had said that he took the tour to get a better understanding of how the updated Air Force One planes would be.
Boeing holds a $3.9 billion contract to replace the two Air Force One jets, but that has now become an expensive and embarrassing drawback. The company has reported losses totaling $2.5 billion already on the program known as VC-25B, CNN reported.
The two currently used jets have the code letter VC-25A on them and carry the Air Force One designation when the US President is on board. These jets have now been in use for nearly 35 years, starting from President George HW Bush’s term.
In February, Trump had told reporters, “I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taken so long,” while referring to the delay in Boeing’s delivery, adding that there’s no “excuse” for it.
The US President is on his Middle East tour this week, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
