United States: President Donald Trump continued to defend his move to accept a USD 400 million jet from Qatar in an exclusive interview with Sean Hannity on Air Force One on Tuesday.
Public Backlash Over Gift Intensifies
According to the public outcry, Trump has faced criticism for his move to take the jumbo Boeing 747-8 jet from the Qatari royal family since Sunday, when news of the gift leaked.
As the president said to Hannity, “Now, some people say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country.’ My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept the gift? We’re giving to everybody else? Why wouldn’t I accept the gift?”
The luxury jet had been offered to the United States due to a delay on the part of Boeing in producing the new Air Force One fleet, and this will be used only as a temporary measure so as not to ground the current presidential plane, Fox News reported.
So far, Trump has claimed that AF1 is almost 40 years old and it looks “much less impressive” compared to planes of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, according to him.
“You know, we’re the United States of America. I believe that we should have the most impressive plane,” as per Trump to Hannity.
Aside from the fact that Boeing is lagging behind in delivering the new fleet, the jumbo jet is a gift to the Department of Defense for “a job well done” in their successful defense of Qatar for many years, Trump said on Truth Social a few hours after the interview.
“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,” he noted.
Trump said that the plane would be retired to the presidential library after Boeing delivered its new AF1 fleet, Fox News reported.
President Davis will visit Qatar on Wednesday for the next leg of his four-day Middle East tour, his first big international foray of his second term.
