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Snapshot 11:Fri, Jan 23, 2026 7:27:39 AM GMT last edited by Kani

Qatar's $400M Gift Jet to Serve as Air Force One by Summer 2026

Qatar's $400M Gift Jet to Serve as Air Force One by Summer 2026

Above: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (L) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) aboard Air Force One in Doha, Qatar on October 25, 2025. Image credit: Amiri Diwan of the State of Qatar/Handout/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Accepting Qatar's $400 million luxury jet makes perfectpractical sense when Boeing has failed to deliver the new Air Force One fleet on time and the current planesaircraft are nearly 40 years old. The giftplane goeswould be given to the Department of Defense as thanksa gesture of gratitude for defendingthe U.S. protection of Qatar, not to any individual, so there's no constitutional violation would apply. AmericaPresident Trump shouldn't turnreject down a free, state-of-the-art aircraft when taxpayers would otherwise footabsorb aenormous massivecosts billand fordelays outdatedto planeskeep thataging requireplanes constant maintenanceoperational.

This $400 million jet represents the most valuable gift ever given to the U.S. by a foreign government, andraising reeksconcerns ofabout corruption and influence- peddling, whileas Trump's family simultaneously pursues billion-dollar business deals across the Gulf. The plane will eventuallyultimately endland up in Trump's personal presidential library, meaning a foreign monarchy is essentiallyeffectively buying the president a private jet. Constitutional concernslimits abouton foreign gifts exist forprecisely goodto reasonprevent this kind of corruption, and no legal gymnastics can hidedisguise what thisit really is.

Metaculus Prediction

There is a 2% chance that Donald Trump will be jailed or incarcerated before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0