# Trump is going to use a gifted foreign aircraft as Air Force One **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 11, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256 "2025-05-11T17:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/21 "2025-05-11T22:01:44Z")
The big grift here is that the plane will be donated to the Trump “library” prior to his leaving office, where I’m assuming he can sell it for millions. I’m also assuming that his “library” contains no actual tomes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/22 "2025-05-11T22:04:24Z")
The ABC News story that the deal is decided may be premature. Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the U.S., [said](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/11/qatar-calls-jet-gift-trump-inaccurate-00341084), “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/23 "2025-05-11T22:09:34Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > In olden times, wasn’t there some sort of notion that the President shouldn’t accept such gifts from foreign nations? Does it belong to Trump as the private individual or the US government to be passed on to the next President? Because I believe if the latter then it has long been accepted as practice. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/24 "2025-05-11T22:12:58Z")
Didn’t Vance just get done saying that he wants the US armed forces to be using domestic-made equipment? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/25 "2025-05-11T22:15:53Z")
Were you under the impression that this Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet was Qatari-made? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/26 "2025-05-11T22:56:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Does it belong to Trump as the private individual or the US government t **o be passed on to the next President?** You’re kidding, right? (my bolding) Donald leave something nice for “the next” President? Donald even believe that there is going to BE a “next President”? This is particularly revolting—mainly because the mainstream media seem to be reporting as if it made sense: > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > …the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding that is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library _(Quoting ABC News there, I believe.)_ Seriously, “turn it over to the Trump library”? It’s going to sit in the parking lot of the Trump library? Of COURSE Donald will be using it from the day he gets it until the day he dies: it’s described as a Palace in the Sky. It’s _ **not** _ going to be used to bring tour groups to his Library. In other news: apparently Laura Loomer is withholding her approval of this particular bribe: > [@](#): > > “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.” If the gift had come from Vlad, presumably, she’d be fine with it. > **[Laura Loomer Slams Trump Over Qatari Jet](https://politicalwire.com/2025/05/11/laura-loomer-slams-trump-over-qatari-jet/)** > > MAGA activist Laura Loomer criticized President Trump over reports that his administration plans to accept a luxury jet from the government of Qatar, calling the move “a stain” on his presidency. Said Loomer: “I love ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/27 "2025-05-11T23:09:41Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Donald leave something nice for “the next” President? The White House in smoking ruins, maybe? * * * * * * > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.” “What do you mean _‘we,’_ Sweetheart? Gots nuffin to do with the likes of you. When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/28 "2025-05-12T00:15:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > One better hope that airplane is thoroughly swept and checked for listening bugs/devices. My very first thought when I read the headline. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/29 "2025-05-12T00:37:19Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Does it belong to Trump as the private individual or the US government to be passed on to the next President? Because I believe if the latter then it has long been accepted as practice. Are you saying that you believe the US has long accepted airplanes as gifts? I was under the impression that they were purchased by the government, like everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/30 "2025-05-12T00:56:50Z")
It is typical of Trump’s ego-driven stupidity that at a time when he’s trying to make his message about personal financial sacrifices, he needlessly does this. Will the Fox-news crowd notice? Maybe some of them. They’re not all necessarily worshippers. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/31 "2025-05-12T01:12:11Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Are you saying that you believe the US has long accepted airplanes as gifts? No. I’m saying a gift, whatever it is, is given to the Office of the President, not the President himself. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/32 "2025-05-12T01:16:21Z")
Gah! I read the topic title as, “Trump is going to use a _grifted_ foreign aircraft …” Well, I guess it still works. ---
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/33 "2025-05-12T03:16:48Z")
Edit to include link ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/34 "2025-05-12T03:20:29Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Are you saying that you believe the US has long accepted airplanes as gifts? I wonder if a U.S. government aviation museum ever accepted a British World War II plane – maybe a Spitfire or Hurricane – as a gift. Probably yes, but maybe it was not in working order. The lesser problem with this new gift is that, although it formally is going to the U.S. government, it, unlike a museum exhibit, is targeted to impress the President . The bigger problem is that it goes to Trump’s library/museum in 2029 (assuming no third term coup). AND, unlike other presidential libraries, which are controlled by the National Archives, I except this one to be controlled by the Trump organization. I recall reading during Trump 45 about that being their plan, although I cannot find the link at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/35 "2025-05-12T05:24:53Z")
Is there a reason the [Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-10/chapter-X/part-1050) does not apply here? > Even though heads of state have traditionally exchanged gifts as expressions of goodwill, the Constitution (Article I, Section 9) prohibits anyone in the US Government from receiving a personal gift from a foreign head of state without the consent of Congress. Today, the handling of gifts from a foreign official to any Federal Government employee, including the President, is largely governed by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 1966 and further legislation passed in 1977. Congress has allowed Federal employees to retain any gift from a foreign government, as long as the total US retail value of the gifts presented at one occasion does not exceed an amount established by the General Services Administration (GSA).[[1]](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/archives/reference/gifts.html/sites/default/files/archives/reference/gifts.html#_ftn1) Foreign official gifts over this “minimal value” are considered gifts to the people of the United States, which the recipient must purchase from GSA, at fair market value, in order to retain. The White House Gift Unit sees to the disposition of foreign official gifts that the President and First Lady do not retain. - [SOURCE](https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/presidential-gifts) Google tells me that “minimal value” is currently $480. Pretty sure a freaking 747 is worth more than that. ISTM that if Trump wants to keep it he needs to buy it from the US at market value. A lot of money for a 747 jet. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/36 "2025-05-12T08:13:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Are you saying that you believe the US has long accepted airplanes as gifts? Didn’t they give George Washington an airplane as a gift after the Continental Army seized the airports during the Revolution? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/37 "2025-05-12T11:33:06Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > [nitpick] “Air Force One” is whatever _Air Force_ aircraft the PotUS is on. If he’s on a Marine aircraft it’s “Marine One” (usually a helicopter). If it’s a civilian aircraft it’s “Executive One”. Presumably, if it’s a Navy aircraft it’s Navy One. And so on. [/nitpick] So this gifted foreign aircraft will be Bribery One? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/38 "2025-05-12T11:37:21Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > > > In olden times, wasn’t there some sort of notion that the President shouldn’t accept such gifts from foreign nations? > > Someone looked through the book and found they hadn’t broken that one yet. Haven’t broken that one yet? We’re ten years into Trump accepting gifts from foreign governments. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/39 "2025-05-12T11:37:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So this gifted foreign aircraft will be Bribery One? Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256/40 "2025-05-12T11:43:03Z")
My very first thought, also! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-going-to-use-a-gifted-foreign-aircraft-as-air-force-one/1018256.md?page=3)